TIDE'S CHANCES FOR BUTLER RISE...

JARED BUTLER IS A KEEPER FOR SURE...

AAU SOURCES TELLS ME THAT BAMA LEADS

       Jared Butler has moved the University into the 'here's who you gotta beat' category. It's early, but I'd rather see Alabama named the top school of choice. Here's what is going happen next. Butler is going to see his stock rise. Right now he like Alabama, Texas, and Virgina. Those are top programs. Well, Alabama will be by season's end. It will be catch up for other schools, and those who will try to sign him because top programs want him.



        Wimp Sanderson said the best way to determine how good a recruit might be is to see who wants to him to sign. Not a bad way to get a feel for who's good. Everyone wants five-star recruits. We all have to keep in mind that those stars don't spell success. Trevor Releford was three-star recruit when colleges started recruiting him. He had a great senior season. The more schools that recruited him the higher his point-value became. He ended up as a four-star recruit. That's a big deal to fans. It probably was a big deal for Trevor. He ended up as a five-star player on the court. He carried Alabama a long way for a little point guard. When I say little, I mean size. If you measured his heart you couldn't fit him in the Coliseum. I will never forget the standing ovation he got from UCLA in Pauley Pavilion. Why am I talking about Releford? I think Butler may be a very similar player in terms of heart. 

   

    He finishes plays. He makes plays. He has court sense. He knows where he is and he knows where all the other players are as well. He understands without thinking where and what things will happen. It is a real gift. You develop it with practice, but it is an inherent thing. That is the reason why some players can make great plays. That is why Collin Sexton is so good. He knows where he is going and you don't. If something happens to deflect plan A he goes with plan B. He doesn't have to have a plan B in mind. Some players have that gift. Most don't. Riley Norris has it. That is why he makes so many hustle plays. I wonder whether Dazon Ingram does or not. His offense is so restricted because of the game plans he had to run. I'm betting he does and we'll see it very soon.

        . I like Butler a lot. We need him to continue this upward climb. One thing in the Tide's favor is he loves Coach Avery Johnson. He sees him as a path to NBA. They are both point guards. Birds of a feather?