As a freshman at Tyler (Tex.) Junior College, guard Jimmy Butler was counted on to do one thing — score.

It was a job he could handle. Butler averaged 18.1 points per game, as well as 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists, for Tyler in that lone season. But a transfer to Marquette prior to his sophomore season meant Butler was in for a role reversal.

He was no longer the first (or second, or third) scoring option. He needed a new niché, and he has found it as the Golden Eagles' first guard off the bench at the start of Big East play.

"You have to know your role, and you have to play your role," Butler said. "In juco, I was a scorer, so that's what I had to do. Here, I'm a rebounder, a defender, the little things. I have to accept that and not try and go too far out of my role."

Butler's lengthy 6-foot-6 frame has helped him fill that role immediately. He is averaging 16.6 minutes per game this season for Marquette, scoring 4.1 points per game and grabbing 2.8 rebounds per game in the process. He's also been to the free throw line 44 times, making 34 of those attempts (77.3 percent). He's 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) from the line in Big East games.

He's developed into one of the Golden Eagles' best offensive rebounders — his 31 offensive boards are second only to forward Lazar Hayward — and is the team's fifth leading scorer, shooting 40 percent from the field this year.

Butler still needs to find a way to make mid-range shots with more consistency. Most of his points have come from inside the paint or at the free throw line, something Butler said he is carefully trying to change.

"Dominic (James), Jerel (McNeal), Wesley (Matthews), everybody is like, 'Man just play, we know how you can play, we know you like the dribble pull up jumper, we're going to need that, you've got to be able to do that'," Butler said. "You have to show people you can score, so that they respect you. I'm going to have to start looking for more shots throughout the offense."

If Butler has a signature performance, it came in Marquette's 75-53 win over West Virginia Jan. 10. He had six points (all from the free throw line) and four rebounds to go with a block and a steal in 27 crucial minutes.

"In the previous two games, (Hayward) has gotten into foul trouble, and (Butler) has had to play long stretches," coach Buzz Williams said after the win against West Virginia. "That's probably helped him mature better than anything."

His improvement has also inspired another juco transfer who figures to play a prominent role for Marquette down the stretch — former Tyler teammate and Marquette forward Joseph Fulce.

Butler "has been doing a phenomenal job, he comes off the bench and knows exactly what he needs to do to try and give that spark on defense and offense," said Fulce, who recently recovered from a right knee injury. "It's exciting.when I see my boy out there playing, he's getting it, he's doing a good job. Once I get in the flow of everything we'll both be out there together."

Still, when assessing Butler's play, Williams knows success is measured in small steps.

"He just keeps incrementally getting a little better, a little better, a little better," Williams said after the West Virginia game. "The last two days were his best two consecutive practices.he's garnered trust with the guys that he plays with."