Fansided

Wes Johnson almost tricked Jimmy Butler into attending Iowa State

By Dan Schmelzer

Apr 13, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jimmy Butler tells a great story on how he was almost tricked into attending Iowa State by Wes Johnson.

Jimmy Butler has grown into an elite-level two-way guard for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA, but before that he played at Marquette for four years. However, in a recent interview with Bill Simmons on Simmons’ podcast, Butler shared a story in which he almost went to Iowa State.

Apparently, Butler visited Iowa State with future fellow NBA player Wes Johnson being his host. Johnson filled Butler’s head with dreams of the two players dominating at Iowa State as a dynamic duo, and then left to play for Jim Boeheim at Syracuse.

“So we’re on the visit and I’m thinking I’m coming to Iowa State,” Butler said. “ I was like cool cool cool I may end up going to Iowa State, and he (Johnson) was like cool, you come here, we’re going to be a dynamic force. Two days later, he transfers to Syracuse.”

Butler did not seem to be bitter about the exchange or anything like that, calling Johnson “my guy” multiple times, and referencing them both coming from the same area in Texas. However, it was a fun and interesting story to hear.

Butler was selected by the Bulls as the 30th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, after an up-and-down college career at Marquette. Butler was a good college player, but his skills were primarily limited to playing in the post in Marquette’s system of playing almost primarily guards.

It would have been interesting if Butler would have actually attending Iowa State with or without Johnson, because his current coach with the Bulls, Fred Hoiberg,ended up being the head coach at ISU just a couple of years after his recruitment.

Hoiberg had a ton of success at Iowa State, and would have theoretically been able to unlock Butler’s offensive potential much earlier. If nothing else it is an interesting scenario to think about.

Regardless, I am sure that as a two-time NBA All-Star, Jimmy Butler is happy with the route he decided to take.

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