Butler named top Aggie, again
Utah Statesman: This is the third straight week you’ve received Athlete of the Week honors, do you come out and play to win that award?
Cardell Butler: No. I just come and play hard, I just come and do what coach tells and expects me to do. It starts in practice, if I play hard, then I’m going to come out in the game and play hard. I just come out and play hard every day.
US: You averaged 15 points per game last week, and scored 28 against Idaho. When you’re shooting over 54 percent from behind the three-point line, and went 6-for-7 against Idaho, is that what you call “in the zone?”
CB: Oh yeah, that’s definitely in the zone, when you only miss one shot, I just felt it you know. The more shots I took, the basket got bigger, I could just visualize every shot going in.
US: When you’re shooting like that does the basket look like an ocean?
CB: It looks like a big pot, a big pot full of money, that’s what it felt like, every time I had the ball it just felt like it was going in. It’s just hard to stop somebody when they’re on fire.
US: Do you have any pre-game rituals, or superstitious things that you do to get you ready for the game?
CB: Chew three pieces of spearmint gum, I eat a piece when we come out and shoot, then eat a piece again when we come out for warm-ups, then one more when we come out and get ready to play. I don’t know why, just to have the flavor, the taste in my mouth. US: While you were growing up, did coming to Utah to play basketball at Utah State ever cross your mind?
CB: NO, Utah was probably the last place I thought I’d play, but you know what, I’m glad I ended up here. This is the experience of my life.
US: What brought you to Utah in the first place?
CB: I went to school in Idaho for two years, and Idaho reminds me of Utah, snow and cold. Small, [like] living in a fish bowl, and basketball is the main sport, so you know … Not to mention a free education.
US: If there were other universities, what made you choose this one?
CB: All the other schools were in big cities and there was a lot of stuff to do, and I’m always getting in to stuff when I’m in big cities, always getting into trouble, and that’s one of the reasons I came out here, to stay out of trouble. You have to try to get in trouble and you still can’t up here. That’s another reason why I love this place.
US: Who did you like watching while you were growing up?
CB: Oh, of course Michael Jordan, but after awhile, Vince Carter, I saw him play at North Carolina. I just started liking the way he plays.
US: Who do you think influenced you the most to play, and excel in basketball?
CB: My mom, she’s the first one to put the ball in my hands, the first one to take me to the gym. My mom never played basketball, she took me to the gym one time, and I remember making my first shot and after that I just fell in love with basketball.
US: Are there any other sports that you would like to try your hand in?
CB: I grew up on baseball, too, but I quit because my knees got bad, but boxing is my next favorite. I played a couple of amateur leagues and did pretty good.
US: Do you have any aspirations for the NBA?
CB: That’s also one of my goals, continue my career playing basketball, especially in the NBA, I’ve wanted that since I was 8. That would be a big accomplishment, you know for myself, and just from where I grew up at, not many kids get that opportunity.
US: If not the NBA, what goals do you have for after college?
CB: I haven’t really looked into that yet, but that’s what I’m doing this year just trying to see if I can get a job somewhere, life after basketball. If I don’t go to the NBA, I’ll try to go overseas or something.
-kcaustin@cc.usu.edu