Gearing up for Butler Basketball
We’ve had some exciting news out of the Butler Basketball program recently, so I thought I would share my excitement. First up, the Dogs recently got commitments from Chrishawn Hopkins of Indy Manual, and Khyle Marshall out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
ESPN.com has confirmed that small forward Khyle Marshall verbally committed to Butler on Tuesday. The 6-foot-6 Marshall is ranked No. 22 at his position and chose the Bulldogs over Miami, Florida State and Penn State.
ESPN.com Recruiting Coordinator Reggie Rankin likes what Butler is getting in Marshall.
“Khyle gives the Bulldogs a versatile athlete who can defend multiple positions while also playing a variety of spots on the offensive end,” he said. “He has a great motor and is aggressive on both ends of the floor, competing for rebounds and loose balls.
“This wiry-strong lefty can also get to the rim with quick first-step slashes and can score with athletic moves over or around defenders. He has great body control as spins off defenders to score in the middle of the lane.”
Marshall will need to continue to work on his jumpshot at the next level.
“He can knock down 3’s with time and space but his jumper is an area that needs more consistency,” Rankin added.
“This young wing is very versatile and will be a treat for Butler fans with is size, athletic ability and versatility.”
Marshall joins Eric Fromm (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South H.S.) and Chrishawn Hopkins (Indianapolis, Ind./Emmerich Manuel H.S.) in the Bulldogs’ 2010 class.
Hopkins is a bit of an enigma at this point, having sat out of basketball early in his career, living in Vegas for a bit, coming back to Indy and enrolling at Manual, and now transferring to the charter school Herron. He appears to be a stellar athlete, and his enrollment at Herron seems to indicate he’s serious about getting his academic house in order. It’s good to see Butler recruiting it’s own backyard, particularly the IPS system, as it has traditionally been chock full of basketball talent. Unfortunately the school system is so god-awful that the recruits typically can’t achieve the grades necessary to get into Butler. Let’s hope Hopkins takes this offer seriously and puts in serious study time. Per Rivals.com:
The Butler pledge will definitely add a lot of athleticism to the Bulldogs the moment he gets on campus. Quite simply Hopkins is one of the premier athletes in the entire 2010 class. He showed that with multiple dunks where his head was well above the rim. Hopkins is more than just an athlete though, he does have basketball skill. He showed an ability to shoot beyond three point range off the catch, and also is capable of handling the ball well in traffic while driving to the rim. The next step for him is to be able to shoot of the dribble, but you just don’t see too many athletes like him. Hopkins is definitely one of the more undervalued 2010 recruits.
Here’s Hopkins showing those hops:
