Brian Butch (born December 22, 1984) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He is currently working as a radio color commentator for the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was annou ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. He was a center on the 2003 McDonald's All-American basketball team and later attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

on a basketball scholarship. He was briefly a member of the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, although he never played any games for them.

High school career

Appleton West High School Appleton West High School (or AWHS, formerly known as Appleton Senior High School or Appleton High School) is a comprehensive public secondary school located in Appleton, Wisconsin that serves students in the ninth through twelfth grades. The ...

, Butch was a two-time

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

State Player of the Year by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

. He averaged 22.8 points and 10.1 rebounds as a senior, leading Appleton West High School to a 23–3 record and the Division 1 State Championship game in 2003. Butch is also Appleton West's all-time leading scorer with 1,431 points. He broke a 35-year-old

state tournament record by scoring 45 points in the quarterfinals, which was held at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's

Kohl Center The Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team. ...

. Butch averaged 30.8 points in four games at the Kohl Center over his prep career. Butch was later named a 2003 McDonald's All-American ("West" squad) where he shared the court with players such as

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

and

Luol Deng Luol Ajou Deng (born 16 April 1985) is a British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in what is now South Sudan, Deng fled the country with his ...

. He scored 6 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the nationally televised contest.

Collegiate career

Butch elected to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

his freshman year. As a redshirt-freshman, Butch played in 27 games, averaging 9.7 minutes, 3.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.2 assists, and 0.3 blocks. He missed six games with

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

. He scored his then career-high 12 points versus

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and grabbed a career-high 9 rebounds versus

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

. Butch was named academic All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. As a redshirt-sophomore, Butch played in 31 games, averaging 9.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.8 blocks. He scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed career high 12 rebounds vs.

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

in the same game. As a redshirt-junior, Butch played in 30 games before severely dislocating his elbow in a 49–48 loss to Ohio State on February 25, 2007. For the season, he averaged 8.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.58 assists, and 0.5 blocks. He increased his career-high scoring mark to 27 points on December 16, 2006 in an 89–75 win versus then-ranked #2

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. The Big Ten conferences coaches selected Butch as All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. As a senior, Brian Butch played in 36 games. For the season he averaged 12.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.8 blocks per game. Butch was selected for USA Pan-American game trials in 2006.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2008 NBA draft, Butch joined the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

for the 2008 NBA Summer League. He later signed with

Jiangsu Dragons Jiangsu Dragons Kentier (), also known as Jiangsu Dragons or Jiangsu Kentier, are a Chinese professional basketball team in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Nanjing, Jiangsu. History In the 2004–05 seaso ...

of China. He left Jiangsu in November after just 2 games. In December 2008, he signed with Giants Nördlingen of Germany. Throughout the 2008–09 season with the Giants, he played 20 games averaging 10.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. In 2009, Butch signed with

Ilisiakos Ilisiakos Football Club ( el, Ηλυσιακός A.O.) is an Athens-based football club that was founded in 1927 by Michalis Xydis, Lambropoulos, Evgenopoulos, Nikolaos Plessas, ''et al.''. They played in Delta Ethiniki until 2003. Ilisiakos spent ...

of Greece. He played in 3 games averaging 14 points and 5.3 rebounds. He left in November 2009. In December 2009, Butch was acquired by the

Bakersfield Jam Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's pop ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. As the Jam's starting center, Butch was named an NBA D-League All Star. Coming off the bench, he was named the 2010 All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player. On April 11, 2010, Butch signed with the Denver Nuggets. On August 15, 2010, he was waived by Nuggets before playing in a game for them. Later that year, he re-joined Nuggets for the 2010 NBA Summer League. However, he sustained a season-ending injury in a game against the Lakers, forcing him to sit out the entire 2010–11 season. In November 2011, he was re-acquired by the Jam for the 2011–12 season. On December 9, 2011, he signed with the New Orleans Hornets. He was later waived by the Hornets on December 23. He re-joined the Jam in March 2012. He joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2012 NBA Summer League. On September 24, 2012, Butch signed with the Utah Jazz. However, he was waived on October 18. In November 2012, he was re-acquired by the Jam for the 2012–13 season. In April 2013, he joined Atléticos de San Germán of Puerto Rico. He left in May after playing in 2 games. In November 2013, he was re-acquired by the Jam for the 2013–14 season. On February 3, 2014, he was traded to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. On February 27, 2014, the Mad Ants bought out Butch's contract. The same day, he signed with the

Meralco Bolts The Meralco Bolts is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team began in 2010 after the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) acquired the PBA franchise of the Sta. Lucia Realtors. The team is one of three ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

as an import for the

2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2014 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup, also known as the 2014 PLDT Home TVolution-PBA Commissioner's Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the second conference of the 2013–14 PBA season. The tournament started on Ma ...

. In July 2015, Butch signed with Toshiba Brave Thunders of Japan for the 2015–16 season.

Coaching career

Brian Butch served as the Associate Head Coach of the Wisconsin Herd (NBA G-league) from 2017 until 2019. Butch was relieved of his duties in March 2019 as a result of the team's performance.

Achievements and awards

*2001–2002 Wisconsin High School AP Player of the Year *2002–2003 Wisconsin State Tournament Division 1 single game scoring record with 45 points in the quarterfinals *2002–2003 Wisconsin High School AP Player of the Year *2002–2003 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball presented by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association *2002–2003 McDonald's All-American *2004–2005 Academic All-Big Ten *2006–2007 All-Big Ten Coaches Honorable Mention *2007–2008 Consensus All-Big Ten First Team Selection *2007–2008 Big Ten Champions *2007–2008 Big Ten Tournament Champions *2010 NBA D-League All-Star Game MVP *2013 All-NBA D-League First Team

References

External links

Profile
at Eurobasket.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Butch, Brian 1984 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atléticos de San Germán players Bakersfield Jam players Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Basketball coaches from Wisconsin Basketball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Basketball players from Wisconsin Centers (basketball) Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Giants Nördlingen players Ilysiakos B.C. players Jiangsu Dragons players Kawasaki Brave Thunders players McDonald's High School All-Americans Meralco Bolts players Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philippine Basketball Association imports Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka players Sportspeople from Appleton, Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball players Wisconsin Herd coaches Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games