“It was at that moment I had just let go that we got the pick. “I tried to stay as tough as I could,” Butler told after getting picked. With the 40th pick in the 2021 #NBADraft, Utah selects /wvti2Pi2Sp He was technically selected by the New Orleans Pelicans (his hometown team, having grown up Reserve, Louisiana), but they had already agreed to trade the rights of that pick to the Memphis Grizzlies, who earlier Thursday night traded it to the Jazz. > Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<Įxpected to go somewhere in the back half of the first round, the former Baylor Bear had to wait until the Utah Jazz selected him with the 40th overall pick, 10 selections into the second round. 1 in the country.īut this season he’s become a National Player of the Year candidate by averaging 17.0 points per game and shooting 44 percent from 3.It wasn’t until Jared Butler made a conscious decision to “let go” that he finally heard his name called in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft on Thursday. A year ago, he became a full-time starter and was the leading scorer (16.0 ppg) on a team that spent time at No. He was solid as a freshman for the Bears, averaging 10.2 points and 2.7 assists while shooting 35 percent from long range. “I owe Jake so much.”īutler took advantage of the unlikely opportunity. “He didn’t even know me like that,” Butler said. The only way Butler was able to come on board was because Jake Lindsey agreed to give up his scholarship. “There weren’t any other schools in the mix,” Butler said. Instead of re-opening his recruitment, Butler and his family quickly decided that Waco would be the best situation, especially with the relationship between Byrd and the Baylor coaching staff. “Unfortunate circumstances forced me to part ways with Alabama,” Butler said. “I think my parents felt like the playing style at Virginia wasn’t the best situation for me,” Butler told Stadium.īutler signed with Alabama and only spent two months on the Tuscaloosa campus before parting ways with the program. Unfortunately for Baylor, Butler “loved” Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett, but his father ultimately felt as though Avery Johnson and the Crimson Tide were the best fit for his son. Baylor guard Jake Lindsey wasn’t healthy, so the Bears now had a need for a guard. Alabama was the first high-major school to make an offer to him, and Virginia followed. Plus, Tang didn’t want to string along Byrd and recruit Butler if he wasn’t sure that he would have a chance to succeed in Waco.īut then it all changed after Butler’s junior year. Still, Tang really wasn’t that interested.īutler was a volume shooter, and Baylor didn’t need guards in that class. “But Coach Byrd told me he was going to be better than Tweety.” “He was a little chubby kid back then,” Tang joked about Butler. “It was a big thing, a Baylor assistant coach at our school.” “I remember him (Tang) coming to the school,” Butler added. He actually wasn’t there to see Butler, but instead stopped by to check in with Riverside Academy coach Timmy Byrd, who he had become close with from when Byrd coached former Baylor standouts Tweety Carter and Ricardo Gathers. Two years later, it was Baylor assistant Jerome Tang who made the trip back to Louisiana. “My son is a point guard,” said Richard, Butler’s dad, as he took the picture. When Scott Drew came to Riverside Academy back when Jared Butler was in the sixth grade, Butler’s father told him to go get a photo with the Bears head coach.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |