Caron Butler's 'unusual twist and turn' leads to Racine County Sports Hall of Fame

The 16-year-old kid was just starting to dig himself out of what had been a wasted life, which included being arrested numerous times by the age of 15. What Caron Butler did have was the gift for playing basketball at a high level and he first demonstrated it that night when he contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds in Park’s 72-63 loss to state-ranked Horlick.

“He made all the difference in the world,” said Park coach Doug Whiteley, whose team had been routed by Horlick 75-43 in the first meeting between the schools that season.

That was just the beginning for one of the most inspiring transformations ever by an athlete from Racine County.

Going on 28 years after his debut in Park’s fieldhouse following his incarceration at the Ethan Allen School for Boys in Wales, Butler has built an extensive record of achievement. That includes becoming a two-time All-Star during his 14-year career in the NBA, authoring books, developing a close friendship with the legendary Kobe Bryant and becoming a success in the business world and in broadcasting.

Butler awakens every day at 4:30 a.m. for a reason. And when he addresses a soldout crowd Thursday night at the Roma Lodge during his induction into the Racine County Sports Hall of Fame, he’ll be able to discuss his transformation from a deteriorating life in dead-end streets to having a street named in his honor in Racine.

“It’s extremely special because you never thought that you would be honored in such a way at some point when it all started,” the 44-year-old Butler said of his induction. “For a lot of the people who have got honored in the past, it was a celebration of their triumph over the years.

“But mine took an unusual twist and turn and look what I made out of it. It’s all due to the support of my village, my family, my loved ones and the people who saw the good in me, saw something special in me and never looked down on me.

“They always just pushed me to want to be better every day. That’s why I’m so grateful. When I got the call (about his induction), I was like, ‘Wow, that’s just so amazing that I am able to be humbly honored in this way.”

The list of gifted high-profile athletes who squandered their talent is endless. Butler learned at an early age to make the most of his considerable ability, developing his skills on AAU teams and leaving Racine in 1998 for Maine Central Institute, where he was noticed by Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun.

“I think in the beginning, it was tough because you were coming from a lot of trial and error on your own terms because you just didn’t know any better,” Butler said. “And then all of a sudden, you get this awareness of life, of traveling the world through AAU basketball programs.

“Because of my talent, I was able to see the world and was exposed to different things. I started believing I could do other things and that exposed me to so many other opportunities from an educational standpoint. I put myself in prep school off my talent.

“After I made a substantial amount of money, I was able to go to the Syracuse Broadcasting School, I was able to go to Harvard Business School, I was able to put myself in all these different functional programs to enhance my abilities. So when I walked away from basketball, I was able to have a second act that is better than my first.”

As impressive as his NBA career was, there’s no question Butler has been even more impressive since he retired from playing in 2016.

He has worked as an a college basketball and NBA analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports. He has co-authored three books, including his autobiography, “Tuff Juice: My Journey from the Streets to the NBA,” with a forward by Bryant. And Butler has never forgotten his hometown, which included a $200,000 donation in 2012 for charitable organizations in Racine.

And even though his final NBA game was on April 11, 2016 as a reserve for the Sacramento Kings, the sport that helped catapult Butler into a successful life that was once beyond his comprehension still flows through his veins.

He has been an assistant coach for the Miami Heat, the team that made him a lottery pick in 2002, for the last four seasons. It’s an all-consuming job, which includes breaking down film from that night’s game while on a charter flight in the night skies.

“It’s the process of teaching them, whether it’s in practice or film sessions,” Butler said of his responsibilities under coach Erik Spoelstra. “I do individual workout pods, getting the guys mentally sound and in their sweet spot and working on tendencies about the players from the other team we’re about to play.”

Does Butler ever aspire to become a head coach in the NBA?

“It’s gonna happen,” he flatly relies.

Why is Butler so convinced of that?

“I work hard,” Butler said. “I work extremely hard and I leave no stones unturned. When you put that type of effort in and that preparation, the opportunity is going to come.”

It’s all about forcing the issue and creating positive change. Butler used that mindset to navigate himself out of a neighborhood of dead-end streets nearly 30 years ago and that’s how he lives his life to this day.

“You can change your narrative at any point in your life when you say I am not going to tolerate this and this is what I’m going to do,” Butler said. “I’m living proof of that and that’s what young people need to hear as much as possible. And older people too.”