Jimmy Butler is an inspiration...
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6670347
Wow. Just wow. What a great story. And good on Buzz for bringing that non-traditional juco to MU. It clearly was a positive combination.
Good on Jimmy. Good on the Lamberts. Good on Buzz keeping Jimmy's secrets close just like he kept Otule's vision issues close.
Buzz not turning Jimmys life into a marketing pitch for the young man... blows my mind. If I were Jimmy that would be on the tip of my tongue for every interview. Good on him for trying to make it as a hard working individual instead of on marketing.
Has this been posted yet:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Butler-110610-test
It makes everything Jimmy has said about being a leader, about being a glue guy, about 1000 times more poignant. Freaking amazing story, and no one ever knew the whole time he was at Marquette.
Great, great story. Best of luck to Jimmy
Simply an amazing story. The type of person that can not only survive but succeed after such a turbulent start in life only comes around once in a while.
Jimmy is an excpetional young man and I am extremely proud he is a fellow MU alum.
I'm not sure if it's a "great" story but surely it was inspiring.
But this...really says a lot about the impact his story has made on the NBA and himself:
"His story," one GM said. "is one of the most remarkable I've seen in all my years of basketball. There were so many times in his life where he was set up to fail. Every time he overcame just enormous odds. When you talk to him -- and he's hesitant to talk about his life -- you just have this feeling that this kid has greatness in him."
Butler is fine with that interpretation. But there's another one that he fears.
"Please, I know you're going to write something. I'm just asking you, don't write it in a way that makes people feel sorry for me," he said. "I hate that. There's nothing to feel sorry about. I love what happened to me. It made me who I am. I'm grateful for the challenges I've faced. Please, don't make them feel sorry for me."
And I didn't know this:
"By April of 2008, Butler had offers from Marquette, Kentucky, Clemson, Mississippi State and Iowa State."
Holy crap...what a flippin' story!!
That was a well kept secret. When his parents were introduced on Sr. Night, I did question it. As I recall, they said when he arrived that one of the reasons he went to JC was because his family was poor and he came from a small town where he could not afford AAU ball or get exposure in High School.
More impressive to me, though, is that through all of this he still graduated High School on time.
Is that Chad Ford column an insider story? the link doesn't seem to work...
Quote from: MUMac on June 17, 2011, 08:14:31 AM
That was a well kept secret. When his parents were introduced on Sr. Night, I did question it. As I recall, they said when he arrived that one of the reasons he went to JC was because his family was poor and he came from a small town where he could not afford AAU ball or get exposure in High School.
More impressive to me, though, is that through all of this he still graduated High School on time.
+33
Basketball aside, continuing to go to high school and to graduate in 4 years despite all that he had gone through really tells you what type of person Jimmy is. I obviously wanted him to succeed in the NBA because he's a MU alum, but now I'll be rooting for him even harder because of what he has overcome.
(BTW, the Ford link didn't work for me either)
Quote from: SonofPianoMan on June 17, 2011, 09:12:21 AM
Is that Chad Ford column an insider story? the link doesn't seem to work...
Don't know what happened to the story. Here's the cached page: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&rlz=&q=cache:Jr_o0BqpJioJ:http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Butler-110610-test+http%3A//sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story%3Fcolumnist%3Dford_chad%26page%3DButler-110610-test&ct=clnk
Edit: Looks like the story is back up with a slightly different URL:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Butler-110610-test1
+1 thanks.
Wow...what an amazing story.
That's absolutely incredible. Kudos to Buzz and company for keeping it under wraps until Jimmy was ready to tell the story himself. Talk about a will to overcome, that's one tough-ass kid.
The basketball "Blind Side" story.
Quote from: muwarrior69 on June 17, 2011, 10:45:47 AM
The basketball "Blind Side" story.
As I finished reading the story, I first thought, how could they not make a movie out of it. But then again, it is probably too similar to Blind Side.
It is just a great story. I am considering laminating a printout of it and every time my 13 year old daughter complains about, well, pretty much anything, I can pull out the article and ask, "really, that is a problem for you?" And, no, I don't mean that as a threat to kick her out of the house! I mean it as a way to keep perspective on what is and isn't a difficulty in life.
Quote from: MUEng92 on June 17, 2011, 01:57:18 PM
As I finished reading the story, I first thought, how could they not make a movie out of it. But then again, it is probably too similar to Blind Side.
It is just a great story. I am considering laminating a printout of it and every time my 13 year old daughter complains about, well, pretty much anything, I can pull out the article and ask, "really, that is a problem for you?" And, no, I don't mean that as a threat to kick her out of the house! I mean it as a way to keep perspective on what is and isn't a difficulty in life.
Besides, Mrs. Lambert would have to play her own part. No movie actress could surpass her beauty on the inside nor match it on the outside. Just my opinion.
Quote from: muwarrior69 on June 17, 2011, 02:29:08 PM
Besides, Mrs. Lambert would have to play her own part. No movie actress could surpass her beauty on the inside nor match it on the outside. Just my opinion.
Michelle Lambert of Tomball, 10 miles nw of our home, certainly reminds one of the inspiring Blind Side movie...here is a pic of the fam.
EDIT: I had the pic from another link--not realizing the beautiful and kind Ms. Lambert is in the ESPN photos too
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&rlz=&q=cache:Jr_o0BqpJioJ:http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Butler-110610-test+http%3A//sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story%3Fcolumnist%3Dford_chad%26page%3DButler-110610-test&ct=clnk
They changed the URL again... http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Butler-110618
Now this is headline news.
http://espn.go.com/nba/
Front page.
This is already a better movie than Blind Side and it's not even a movie it's a reality show.
Love ya, Jimmy! The NBA not only wants you, its needs you.
I guess the one thing I would add is that Jimmy knows he has two homes . . .
The Lambert's back in Texas.
And Marquette University.
Someones missing here
Conspicuous by absence
Can't make Buzz look bad
Teased by his co-workers
His degree now diminished
No more Jucos please!
Makes me squirmy.
On homepage of ESPN.com
Quote from: GOMU85 on June 16, 2011, 06:32:13 PM
Jimmy Butler is an inspiration...
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6670347
Great story--I wonder if the way MU supported Todd Townsend with similar adversity growing up might have had some influence.
Quote from: tower912 on June 18, 2011, 03:23:08 PM
Someones missing here
Conspicuous by absence
Can't make Buzz look bad
You do realize its crap like this that is just as much of a problem, right?
I plead guilty to giving into weakness.
Quote from: houwarrior on June 17, 2011, 05:34:35 PM
Michelle Lambert of Tomball, 10 miles nw of our home, certainly reminds one of the inspiring Blind Side movie...here is a pic of the fam.
IF Jimmy becomes a first round pick and a star I say with some level of certainty that this could be a movie. (probably should be a autobiography first)
We think its an awesome story because of the class of player Jimmy Butler is.
A sports fan will think its a great movie because he can cry with out being called a bitch
A movie producer will think its a great movie because "The Blind Side" made over $300m on a $29m budget, and won oscars, SAGs and Golden Globes, so why not keep frackin that chicken?
Everybody wins.
I'm thinkin Howie Mandel as Buzz Williams
Nah, Telly Savalas.