Caron Butler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Position | Small forward |
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| Height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Weight | 228 lb (103 kg) |
| Team | Washington Wizards |
| Jersey | #3 |
| Born | March 13, 1980 Racine, Wisconsin |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Washington Park (Racine), Maine Central Institute |
| College | Connecticut |
| Draft | 10th overall, 2002 Miami Heat |
| Pro career | 2002–present |
| Former teams | Miami Heat 2002 – 2004 L.A. Lakers 2004 – 2005 |
James Caron Butler, widely known as Caron Butler (pronounced Kuh-RONN) (born March 13, 1980), is an American professional basketball player, currently starting at small forward for the NBA's Washington Wizards.
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[edit] Personal life
Butler was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, where he suffered through a rough childhood; he was arrested 15 times before the age of 15. After a brief career at Washington Park High School[1], he enrolled at Maine Central Institute where he was successful enough to receive a scholarship to play at UConn for coach Jim Calhoun.
He lives in Centreville, Virginia with his wife, Andrea, and daughter, Mia. He has another daughter, Camary, and son, Caron Jr., who live in Racine.[1]
[edit] College career
At Connecticut, Butler lost 15 pounds off his frame and developed his perimeter game. As a freshman, Butler led the Huskies, only two years removed from a National Championship, in both scoring and rebounding with 15.6 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game respectively.[2] The summer after his freshman season he started for the US team that took home gold in the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men.[3] Butler followed his spectacular rookie campaign with an even better sophomore season. Butler averaged 20.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore leading the Huskies to both regular season and tournament Big East titles. He was named co-Big East player of the year (along with Pittsburgh's Brandin Knight) and a second-team All American.[4] Butler led the Huskies to the Elite 8 of the NCAA basketball tournament. Despite 32 points from Butler, the Huskies lost a close game to eventual national champion Maryland Terrapins.[4] After the season Butler declared for the NBA draft.
[edit] NBA career
He was a lottery pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, selected with the 10th overall pick by the Miami Heat. He is remembered for his comments on draft day after nine teams passed over him, saying that he was going to make them pay for the rest of his career. In his first season with the Heat, he averaged 15 points and 5 rebounds. During his second season his stats fell slightly to 9 points and 4 rebounds, with an injury-hampered effort all season. He played in only 68 games in his second year. In 2004 Miami nearly scored a huge upset, pushing the favored Indiana Pacers to six games before falling in the conference semifinals. At the end of the season, he was traded along with Lamar Odom and Brian Grant to the Lakers in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal.
Caron Butler was traded along with Chucky Atkins to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kwame Brown and Laron Profit. Then before the 2005-06 season opener, he inked a 5-year, $46 million dollar deal with the team. He became part of Washington's new "Big 3", previously made up of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and the now-departed Larry Hughes (now with the Chicago Bulls), who Butler replaced in the 2005-06 season. Butler was nicknamed "Tough Juice" by coach Eddie Jordan for his aggressive and passionate play,[5] epitomized by Butler's 20 rebounds in Game 6 of the Cavaliers series.
Butler is known offensively for his face up line drive jumper, as well as his athleticism and ability to finish around the rim.
On January 17, 2007, Butler converted his first game-winning basket, a dunk following a pass from DeShawn Stevenson with 2.2 seconds remaining against the Knicks to give the Wizards a 99-98 win.[6] Butler was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for January 15–21, 2007.[7]
Butler enjoyed his best season as a professional in 2007, with career-high averages of 19.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.
Caron Butler was named as a reserve to the 2007 NBA Eastern Conference All-Star team, his first appearance.[8]
He broke his hand late in the 2006-07 season attempting to block a shot and was forced to sit out during the playoffs along with the injured Gilbert Arenas and watch as the Wizards were swept in the opening round by Cleveland.
On February 13, 2008, Butler, who was out with a left hip flexor strain, and later diagnosed as a small labral tear of the left hip joint, was selected as a reserve for the East in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, Louisiana, but was forced to sit out. He was replaced by Commissioner David Stern with Celtics guard Ray Allen.
Due to the injury, Butler missed 20 of the Wizards' last 35 games in the 2008 season. He returned to the lineup on March 13 (his 28th birthday), when the Wizards hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers. He registered 19 points (8-for-18 field goals) five rebounds in 41 minutes played in the Wizards' 101-99 win over the Cavs.[9]
[edit] Trivia
- Butler appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show, where he discussed his troubled childhood, and how basketball helped him.[10]
- Butler's name is mentioned on Romeo's song "U Can't Shine Like Me".
- Butler attended a surprise birthday party for Anthony Fadel, a 16-year-old in the Washington, D.C. area when invited by the boy's family.[11] The party was held in May of 2007, and the event was primarily reported by Internet blogs, since Wizards PR purposely did not cover the event to preserve the sincerity of Butler's gesture.[12]
- Butler's nickname is "Tough Juice".
- Constantly compared to Paul Pierce.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Lee, Michael. "The Great Escape", Washington Post, 2008-02-16. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
- ^ Caron Butler Statistics - Basketball-Reference.com
- ^ http://www.usabasketball.com/history/ymwc_2001.html
- ^ a b www.UConnHuskies.com Mens Basketball
- ^ http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20060417-122458-4991r_page2.htm
- ^ Butler's dunk in final seconds lifts Wizards past Knicks
- ^ NBA.com: Butler, Nash Named NBA Players of the Week
- ^ "2007 All-Star Reserves Announced", NBA.com, 2 February 2007.
- ^ Butler returns as Wizards dodge Cavs, get back to .500
- ^ Overcoming the Odds: Caron Butler's Story of Survival
- ^ A Caron Butler Surprise - D.C. Sports Bog
- ^ ESPN - Caron Butler in the Basement - TrueHoop
[edit] External links
- NBA.com Profile - Profile at NBA.com
- Basketball-Reference.com: Caron Butler
- Yahoo! Sports Profile at Yahoo!
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