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Butler stirring up Peach Jam

Wisconsin forward outplays Miles, continues surge up charts

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Posted: Friday July 16, 1999 06:24 PM

Omar Cook, coveted by UNC, displayed his offensive skills while leading Riverside (N.Y) Church. Todd Bennett/The Augusta Chronicle

By Stewart Mandel, CNN/SI

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- No basketball prospect has done more for himself in the past two weeks than James Caron Butler.

After playing himself into a likely Top 10 spot nationally at last week's Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis, Butler has taken things one step further at this week's Nike Peach Jam playing for his Bray Center team from Racine, Wis.

On Wednesday, the 6-foot-9 Butler -- a beast on the boards with a wingman's offensive mentality -- scored 37 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a morning game against Sports Express, then came back at night with 32 and 16 against the Illinois Warriors. His counterpart in the post, superstar Darius Miles of East St. Louis, Ill., finished with a more modest 12 points and seven boards, though Miles' team prevailed 69-67.

Butler's immediate future is a subject of much speculation. Technically, he was a high school senior last year at Maine Central Institute prep school but hasn't qualified academically for college. Butler announced last spring he would return to Maine Central for a fifth year.

But his MCI coach, Max Goode, is now an assistant to Bill Bayno at UNLV, which wants him to enroll in the fall and sit out a year. Butler said he has to decide whether to go to Vegas by Aug. 3, but remains "wide open" at this point. He still believes returning to Maine Central is his best option.

"Hopefully, it can put me in the position where the NBA can be an option (after next season)," he said. "That's how confident I am about what that fifth year can do for me."

Considered a mid-range prospect only a couple months ago, Butler's game Wednesday night drew a top-billing audience of coaches, including Indiana's Bob Knight, Kansas' Roy Williams, UConn's Jim Calhoun, Illinois' Lon Krueger and St. John's' Mike Jarvis.

Dajuan Wagner, a guard for Del Val Hoops, scrambles for a loose ball with Jordan Malone, a guard for Bary Center. Bary Center won the game 66-49. Todd Bennett/The Augusta Chronicle

Unfortunately for those and others in the college game, Butler and Midwest pal Miles -- also considered in academic jeopardy -- seem to have their minds on another destination. One coach said he was told Butler would only consider the NBA or "a top 10 program."

"We [he and Miles]had a long conversation about it [he NBA]," said Butler. "The thing is, if you've got enough talent and are able to, why not go? But if you're gonna get paid $4 million to sit on the bench all year, then you're wasting the most important time of your career to work on your game."

Seeing red

With the classic Hoosiers buzzcut, Boyd looks and plays much like former IU/Southern Miss point guard Neil Reed. The 6-3 Owens possesses a sharp outside touch and has seen his stock rise since picking a program. Jeffries has cooled off a bit since giving the top performance at Nike Camp last week but is still posting stellar numbers. He did leave Wednesday night's game early, though, with a twisted ankle.

Game of the week

Houston's Brown looked simply unstoppable in the first half, mixing dazzling dribble fakes with the occasional outside shot, while Cook found his touch -- and his open teammates -- in the second half to lead Riverside to victory. With several other major prospects on each side, the game's intensity was much closer to Division I than AAU. Cook is the top point-guard choice of North Carolina's Bill Guthridge, while Brown is being wooed by St. John's, among others.

Underclass sensations

Ex-Louisville star Milt Wagner's junior-to-be son has shown again this week why he is the nation's top prospect, regardless of age. In a game Wednesday he scored 35 points despite his shot being off, dished six assists and showed off his most attractive attribute, a fiery, vocal leadership at the point. Another junior turning heads is Los Angeles' Tyson Chandler, a 7-foot Kevin Garnett-in-waiting who literally looks like a man among boys on the court.

 

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