Caron Butler
College career
At Connecticut, Butler lost 15 pounds (6.8 kg) and developed his perimeter game. As a freshman, Butler led the Huskies, only two years removed from a national championship, in scoring (15.3 points per game) and rebounds (7.6 per game). 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.
College career
Butler improved as a sophomore, averaging 20.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, leading the Huskies to regular-season and tournament Big East titles. His accolades included Big East tournament MVP, co-Big East player of the year (with Pittsburgh's Brandin Knight), and second-team All-American. Butler led the Huskies to the Elite 8 of the NCAA basketball tournament. In the quarter-final game, he scored 32 points, but the Huskies lost a close game to the eventual national champion Maryland Terrapins. After the season ended, Butler declared for the NBA draft.
Miami Heat (2002–2004)
Butler was a lottery pick in the 2002 NBA draft, selected with the 10th overall pick by the rebuilding Miami Heat. Miami relied on the rookie Butler immediately: he started all 78 games he played in during the season. Butler finished with an average of 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game—the latter good for eighth in the league. Miami won just 25 games and missed the playoffs, but Butler excelled. He won rookie-of-the-month awards four times during the season, was picked to play in the rookie challenge game at that year's All-Star weekend in Atlanta, and at season's end was named to the first team on the NBA All-Rookie Team. After the season, Miami entered the draft lottery, drafted Dwyane Wade, and acquired Lamar Odom from the Los Angeles Clippers.
Reading List
Report Issue