Butler basketball: Chuck Harris shines in final exhibition tune-up vs. Davenport

Butler coach Thad Matta stressed the importance of execution after Saturday's 10-point exhibition win over Tiffin. Heading into their final tune up before Monday's season opener against New Orleans, the Bulldogs showed improved execution in every aspect of the game, cruising to a 91-55 win over Davenport on Tuesday.

All five starters reached double figures. Eight of nine players recorded at least one assist. Eric Hunter Jr. and Myles Tate led Butler with six assists each.

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Here's three observations from Tuesday's dominant win.

Chuck Harris shows potential for greatness

Butler junior guard Chuck Harris is a proven scorer. His first step is explosive, he can finish at the rim and he has a knack for finding soft spots in defenses for pullups and floaters. Harris was the first freshman to lead the Bulldogs in scoring since 1980. He led Butler in scoring again last season, but against Davenport, Harris showed his maturation into a complete player. A player capable of earning All-Big East honors.

Harris led the Bulldogs with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. An impressive and efficient offense performance, but what had Matta smiling after the game was his rebounding. Harris had no rebounds against Tiffin, so the longtime coach challenged his star guard to make an impact on the boards. The Virginia native answered the challenge, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds to go along with four assists and four steals.

"Coach made it a big priority for our guards to lead us in rebounding," Harris said.

"That was something that was very important to us," added Matta. "We were smaller, and as we said, we can't expect Manny (Bates) to get every rebound. ... Their five man, he was on the perimeter a lot. So that was going to open the opportunity for (the guards) to get in there and rebound the basketball. I'm very, very pleased with how they rebounded."

Sophomore guard Jayden Taylor had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Butler goes small(ball)

With Harris and Taylor rebounding at a phenomenal rate, the Bulldogs were able to play a small-ball lineup for large portions of the game. With a depleted frontcourt (more on that later), forwards Pierce Thomas and D.J. Hughes had to play bigger than their listed heights. Playing without a true center, Butler's small-ball lineup excelled in transition. Butler scored 23 fast-break points to Davenport's two, using quick hands in the passing lanes to turn deflections into easy baskets the other way.

Hughes, a 6-6 forward, held his own guarding 6-11 Jakub Dombek and 6-10 James Felton. Thomas, a quick guard with a massive vertical leap is a terror in transition, catching a lob from Hunter Jr. in the second half and capping the first half with a strong baseline drive and two-handed slam.

"D.J. is vastly improved just from the time we got here," Matta said. "He comes in, he gives us energy and you can give Manny a spell. D.J. is one of those guys, whatever we ask him to do, he does. He's fitting into the role that he's going to have on this team. I'm very happy with him."

Simas Lukosius enters starting lineup

Forward Myles Wilmoth (arm), who started vs. Tiffin, did not play against Davenport, so Butler's already thin frontcourt got a little thinner. Centers Jalen Thomas and John-Michael Mulloy are out with injury. Forward Ali Ali is also out with concussion symptoms.

With Wilmoth out, guard/forward Simas Lukosius entered the starting lineup and had an up-and-down performance. Hunter Jr. still did most of the ballhandling, freeing up Lukosius to play off the ball. Lukosius showcased his scoring and playmaking ability (three assists) with the first team, but the biggest difference between him and Wilmoth in the starting five is Lukosius' shaky defense.

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Davenport's guards attacked Lukosius off the dribble and in pick-and-rolls, routinely getting to the basket and forcing Lukosius to foul them. Wilmoth isn't the scorer Lukosius is, and playing the Lithuanian from the opening tip is an intriguing concept with the way he scores. But Lukosius needed to score (15 points) to offset the points he allowed on the other end.

Lukosius had a plus-24 plus/minus, respectable but fourth among the five starters. For now, deploying the crafty guard/forward as the sixth man appears to be best for the sophomore.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball: Chuck Harris stars in exhibition win over Davenport