Jimmy Butler was back in his element Saturday morning,
Taking part in a shoot-around with the Chicago Bulls at the Al McGuire Center, he couldn't help but shake his head and marvel at how much things have changed for him as a result of the countless hours he spent honing his game in the very same practice gym just a few years earlier.
"It's crazy," Butler said, a big grin crossing his face. "I love this gym. This gym is where everything started for me. I put so much work in here, and I have to put in more work this morning with the Chicago Bulls.
"At one time I was a kid looking at NBA players walking in here, saying, 'Oh, my gosh, that's so-and-so, that's so-and-so.' Now kids are looking at me saying, 'Oh, my gosh, Jimmy Butler's here.' But they don't look at me as Jimmy Butler the Chicago Bull; they look at me as Jimmy Butler that went to Marquette.
"It's definitely crazy, but it feels so good to be back."
Butler arrived at Marquette University in 2008 a virtual unknown out of Tyler (Texas) Junior College as the first signee of coach Buzz Williams.
After a year of playing understudy to the trio of Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and Dominic James, he served as sidekick to Lazar Hayward before finally taking the reins for the Golden Eagles in the 2010-'ll season.
He responded with an all-Big East season, averaging 15.7 points and 6.1 rebounds while leading MU to the Sweet 16 - its deepest foray into the NCAA Tournament since Dwyane Wade & Co. advanced to the Final Four in 2003.
The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Butler's productivity and versatility intrigued NBA teams, and last June the Bulls selected him with the final pick of the first round, No. 30 overall.
Butler, like all NBA rookies, saw his development stunted some by a lockout that didn't end until Dec. 8. Without the benefit of summer league, training camp and a full exhibition season, Butler has had to try to work his way into the rotation of a team that advanced to the Eastern Conference finals last season.
After a slow start, Butler has seen his role increase to the point where Thursday night he was matched in a one-on-one battle with New York Knicks all-star Carmelo Anthony. He'd also played three consecutive games of double-digit minutes before playing 9 minutes in Saturday's victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
"For the rookies, it's been a little more difficult because you didn't have summer league, you didn't have the summer to work with your coaches - he's learning as he goes," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He's not only liked by his teammates, he's respected because of the way he works, the way he studies - just his whole approach."
Butler grew close to point guard and team leader Derrick Rose in the off-season and he credits the reigning league MVP as well as the rest of the team's veterans for helping him make the transition from MU.
But, in keeping with his humble roots, he makes it a point to keep in close contact with Williams and many of his former Golden Eagles teammates.
Even though he's finally in the NBA, there's times where he still can't believe his good fortune.
"It's a dream," said Butler, who is averaging 2.8 points and 1.1 rebounds. "The opportunity to be able to put on a Bulls jersey and go out there and represent the Bulls, to play hard at the game that I love to play, I never thought in a million years that I'd get this opportunity - I'm not going to lie to you.
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