Natalie Butler's final season of collegiate basketball will be played at George Mason.
UConn announced that Butler would be graduating from UConn in May and then transfer to George Mason to pursue a postgraduate degree. Since Butler will graduate from UConn, she is eligible to play immediately.
“I would like to thank Coach Auriemma, the coaching staff and my teammates for a great opportunity and learning experience,” Butler said in a statement. “I've had the opportunity to play at an elite level and learn from the best. I would also like to thank the UConn fans - you are the best and have been incredibly supportive during my career. I now look forward to pursuing my postgraduate degree at George Mason University and the challenges that lie ahead. Thank you!”
Butler saw time in 63 games for the Huskies over the last two years and averaged 5.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest. She saw the floor in 36 games during the 2016-17 season and shot 50 percent from the field and 68.9 percent from the free throw line.
Butler was the primary reserve post player a season ago but she saw limited action in many of the Huskies' toughest games as she played eight minutes against Notre Dame, five against Maryland, seven against South Carolina and she did not play at all in the win over UCLA in the NCAA tournament. With Batouly Camara and Azura' Stevens becoming eligible after sitting out the 2016-17 season and national high school player of the year Megan Walker leading a four-member recruiting class, it was uncertain what Butler's role would have been during the 2017-18 season.
Butler, who played at Georgetown as a freshman before transferring to UConn, is a native of Fairfax Station, Virginia while is about five miles from the George Mason campus.
George Mason is coming off a 13-17 season. Kara Wright, who was the team's leading scorer and rebounder last season, was one of three seniors on the 2016-17 squad.
Not surprised at all. Most of her production came in the 4th quarter of games which were over before halftime. Less pressure, more production.
ReplyDeleteIf everyone was healthy all next season, Butler would have been behind the Core 4, Stevens, Walker, Dangerfield, and maybe Batouly.
Auriemma loves his 8 player rotation in the regular season, until the 4th quarter of blowouts. And in close games against top 10 teams, Auriemma was a 6.5 player rotation coach.
I think Bent will transfer, unless she is perfectly happy in the role that Lawlor had for 4 seasons. Irwin probably will stick around, now that Butler is gone.