Senior DJ Davis averaged 13.5 points per game in one season at Butler. Photo by Elle Rotter.
CALEB DENORME | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | cdenorme@butler.edu
The men’s basketball team’s season may have ended on the court when they lost to Minnesota in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament, but it continues off the court. Butler senior DJ Davis, sophomore Connor Turnbull and redshirt junior Artemios Gavalas all entered the portal after the season ended.
The transfer portal opened on March 18 and will close on May 1. The NCAA shortened the length of the portal from 60 days in 2023, to 45 days in 2024. Eight of Butler’s 14 players in the 2023-24 season were brought to the Bulldogs via the transfer portal.
Davis, a 6’1” guard from California, transferred to Butler from UC Irvine. Davis was third on the Bulldogs in points per game with 13.5 and shot 35.1% from beyond the arc. He ended the season tied for first in the nation in free throw percentage, shooting an impressive 95% from the charity stripe. Davis’ season-high 28 points came in an overtime victory against Villanova. Before Butler, he spent three seasons at UC Irvine where he hit 149 three pointers and was named to the 2022-23 All-Big West Conference First Team.
Turnbull, a 6’10” forward from Missouri, came to Butler as a four-star recruit in 2022. Turnbull played in 22 games as a first year, averaging 2.0 points and 5.3 minutes per game. He returned for his sophomore season and appeared in nine games, averaging 4.1 points and 11.7 minutes per game. Turnbull suffered an elbow injury that would hold him out of the rest of the 2023-24 season before entering the portal.
Gavalas, a 6’0” guard from New York, transferred to Butler from St. John’s. He played in seven games, totaling eight minutes played on the year. At St. John’s, Gavalas played in seven games in two years, scoring three points in seven minutes of action.
All three players have not committed to another school yet. They have until the May 1 deadline to transfer to another program, come back to Butler or in Davis’ case, go to the NBA.
