butlerway

Butler actually recruits quite a bit from the Tampa area, so it seems reasonable that the staff would have interest in traveling to USF.  I'd rather see that then Hanover (although I do understand the point of those games).

I didn't see a thread for Justin Gray, but it looks like USF offered him a while ago.  Gray claims Butler recently offered so I tried to dig up a little bit of info on him.  I thought it might interest fans here as well.

According to Rivals.com, 2014 SG/SF Justin Gray is claiming an offer from Brad Stevens and the Butler Bulldogs. The 6’5″ junior from Berkeley Prep out of Tampa, FL also claims an offer from South Florida and interest from Virginia, Stanford, Purdue, Princeton, Harvard, Miami, LSU, and Auburn. While we reported on the message board back in October that Butler was recruiting Gray, there have been very few updates regarding his recruitment since then.

 

Justin had a solid junior campaign at Berkeley Prep. He averaged 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals per game. He shot 49% from the field but struggled from behind the arc at only 28%. He also struggled from the charity stripe, hitting only 63% of his free throws. While that may throw up some red flags, keep in mind Gray did hit 71% of his free throws as a sophomore and has a solid mid range jump shot.  I would expect his free throw percentage to rebound moving forward.

 

To get some more info I contacted Coach Brooks, who has worked with Justin the past 2 years as a part of the Florida Select AAU organization. Coach Brooks emphasized how Justin is both a quality athlete and a quality student. “He happens to be not only a great basketball player, but he also holds up his end in the classroom as well. He eats, sleeps and lives the game of basketball and he’s been a pleasure to coach for the last 2 years. He’s always looking for ways to improve.â€

 

When asked about Gray’s strengths, Coach Brooks mentioned his strong first step to the basket and his pull up jump shot. He’s also a great rebounder and takes advantage of his athleticism to excel in the open court. This summer Justin plans on adding range to his jump shot and working on his ball handling ability. Coach Brooks noted that his on the ball defense would need work prior to the college level but had no doubts it would improve.

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Butler Targeting Berkeley Prep Junior Justin Gray