Lamar Edward Butler, Jr. (born December 21, 1983) is an American former

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 and current boys basketball coach. He was a starting guard for the Patriots of

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

during the Patriots' surprising run to the Final Four. Lamar is currently an assistant coach for the Paul VI boys basketball team located in Chantilly, VA.

College career

During George Mason's captivating run through the NCAA tournament, Butler became a symbol of Cinderella and the tournament collectively with his tenacious heart and infectious smile and was featured on the cover of the March 27, 2006 edition of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' magazine. Following GMU's stunning 86–84 overtime victory against the top-seeded

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's fo ...

in the Washington D.C. Regional Final, Butler was named the region's

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. He scored 13 points against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in the first round, 18 points against

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the second round, 14 points against

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in the Sweet Sixteen, and 19 points against UConn in the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

. After the regional final, Butler and his father were in tears as they hugged at length on the court. It hearkened memories of Butler's recruiting by GMU, during which he brashly predicted to Coach

Jim Larranaga Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

that he would lead the Patriots to the Final Four. "I think I was joking when I said that," Butler said. "I started dreaming when I got to college. It shows you anything can happen." Butler and the Patriots then headed to Indianapolis, where they faced the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

, led by Minnesota Regional MVP

Joakim Noah Joakim Simon Noah ( ; born February 25, 1985) is an American-born French-Swedish former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007. The Chicago B ...

. To the dismay of many across the country rooting for the team leading one of the greatest Cinderella stories in sports history, George Mason was defeated by Florida in the Final Four 73–58 on Saturday, April 1, 2006. In his final game as an NCAA athlete, Butler played 36 minutes where he scored 8 points (4 of 7 FGs, 0 of 2 3PTs) had 4 rebounds, and 1 assist. He will remain etched in NCAA basketball lore for the role he played in George Mason's run. He averaged 12.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game during the 2005–2006 season.

Professional career

Since graduating, Butler was offered to join the summer league for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

only to have the deal revoked. In 2007, he played with BK Prostejov in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

for $8,000 a month. During the 2008–09 season, Lamar played 23 games for 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 ...

Colorado 14ers Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

where he averaged 15 minutes, 6 points and 2 assists per game. On March 5, 2009 he was waived by Colorado and a few days later picked up by the

Reno Bighorns Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

References

External links

Official Mason bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Lamar 1983 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic American expatriate basketball people in Turkey Colorado 14ers players George Mason Patriots men's basketball players Guards (basketball) People from Fort Washington, Maryland Basketball players from Prince George's County, Maryland Reno Bighorns players Tofaş S.K. players American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people

College career

Professional career

See also

References

External links