Prospect Watch: Atavian Butler (2019)
Class of 2019 guard Atavian Butler of McCluer North is a young man who plays much bigger than his actual size.
The 6’2″ Butler is listed as a shooting guard, but he is an athletic performer who loves to play above the rim. Whether he is swooping in to grab rebounds or taking off to throw down an emphatic slam dunk, Butler really enjoys the mid-air action.
“I try to use my athleticism to my advantage by putting my all when going to the basket,” Butler said. “I like using my body against defenders well by either finishing with a layup or a monster dunk.”
As a sophomore, Butler averaged 12 points and six rebounds a game for a young Stars team that finished with a 12-14 record. Butler is at his best on offense when he is attacking the basket off the dribble, but he is also one of the top rebounding guards in the state.
“They key to me is just going hard on every play and trying to do anything possible to help my team win on both sides of the ball,” he said. “So, if rebounding is one of them, that’s what I’ll do to get the job done.”
Butler is the Stars’ top returning player on a team full of juniors and sophomores who are capable of making some noise this season, but will most definitely be a team to watch in 2019. Butler is looking to lead to team to big things this season a year early.
“My goals this season is to show everyone that this is a year you won’t forget,” he said. “I want to lead my team to a district championship this year.”