Post by jhb on May 25, 2021 14:18:00 GMT -5
Caron Butler
SF
6'7"
228
22
UConn
A two-year starter at UConn who overcame tremendous odds to make it as a D1 basketball player, "Tuff Juice" broke into UConn after getting arrested 15 times by the time he was 15. After discovering his love for the game in detention, Butler played AAU ball and at Racine Park High School before going to Maine Central Institute and making good enough grades to get a scholarship offer to UConn. In his time there, he showed a tremendous all-around game and shed some bad weight to get into much better playing shape. Despite losing weight he is still very strong and has a TMBSL-ready body with very long arms; he carries his weight well on his 6'7" frame, he runs the floor well and is excellent in transition, and his first step quickness is a definite strength. Scouts hope that Butler still has a fair amount of room to grow since he didn't get into the game until his late teens.
Offensively, versatility is a huge strength for Butler. He can score, pass, rebound (a monster on the offensive boards), and handle the ball fairly well. He's a bit streaky as a scorer, but when he's hot he will put them up in bunches. He has the size and strength to be a monster in the post and his moves are developing there. He's got a good enough handle to get into the paint and finish at the rim and get to the line or stop and pop and hit the mid-range jumper with consistency. He doesn't have a problem creating offense for himself when he needs to, but he's not great on catch and shoot long 2's and 3's and really needs to have his shoulders set to be effective. Working on his follow through will also help clean some of these problems up. His shot selection was questionable his first season, but he already began showing major strides in his second season.
He also is pretty versatile defensively, as he has the strength to defend in the post and he uses his quick hands very well to create chaos on the perimeter. While he has a great first step, his lateral quickness isn't outstanding so he may struggle with some more high-end quickness on the perimeter. However, he makes up for a fair amount of this with very good defensive insticts and he also is a tremendous hustle player on the defensive boards.