Reggie Butler Has Top Three List

Reggie Butler, a very athletic 6-6, 205 pound small forward from Long Beach Poly H.S. in Long Beach, Calif., told us he has a top three list of Maryland, Arizona, and Connecticut.

Florida is out. Missouri and UCLA, listed previously, are not recruiting as hard as the top three schools mentioned above. "I plan on having all three schools in for in home visits," Butler said. "I have not set up any official visits."

Butler said he will wait until after the in home visits. "I am just getting ready for my season," he said. "I want to work on my ballhandling and be more confident in my shot."

"Nobody has offered anything yet but I think Maryland will soon, according to one of my coaches," Butler said. "I could go with the first school who offers me."

One reason that schools may be hesitant to offer Butler is that he has yet to take the SAT test. He ensured us that he has between a 2.8 and 3.0 GPA and will take the SAT for the first time in October.

As for his recruiting, Butler has some strong ties to Mizzou, with a pair of former Long Beach standouts -- point guard Wesley Stokes (Poly H.S.) and power forward Travon Bryant (Jordan H.S.) -- on the Big 12 program's roster. But Missouri has not really recruited him that hard recently, according to Butler.

He is also intrigued at the possibility of attending Arizona, and the Wildcat staff has talked about Reggie filling a Richard Jefferson type role for them.

Jefferson played three years at Arizona before leaping (no pun intended) to the NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Houston Rockets and later traded to the New Jersey Nets.

Butler has a strong background in track, and that's evident once you watch him run and jump on the basketball court. His combination of speed, athleticism and long arms make him an offensive threat anywhere near the basket. As his wing skills continue to develop and improve, he could truly develop into a special prospect.

Butler averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game as a junior at Poly, a squad that included recent UCLA football commitment Marcedes Lewis.

He had a busy summer, participating in the second session of the Pump West Coast All-Star Camp, as well as the adidas Big Time Tournament and SNJ/EBO Elite 8x2 Tournament with Erik Harden's West Coast All-Stars program.