With the NBA Finals underway, the names Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder are staples in conversation and at the forefront of media coverage. Both standout players on the Miami Heat, the two share a common path to the league's center stage – an often-overlooked journey through NJCAA programs and a back-court pairing with the Marquette University (WI) Golden Eagles.
The path to the finals for the two tenured stars include an inspiring pathway to success through the NJCAA ranks - Crowder, a member of South Georgia Tech before a 2010 national championship run at Howard (TX) and Butler, a true just-give-me-a-chance opportunity with the Tyler (TX) Apaches in 2007-08. The passage to the NBA for Butler and Crowder has more similarities than one can view from the surface.
For the Tomball, TX native, Butler's opportunity at Tyler was more than an outlet to play basketball at the next level, it was a chance to prove himself. A single offer from the Apaches' head coach Mike Marquis marked an early chapter in Butler's unfinished book. In 2008, Butler and the Apaches won a Region XIV championship title and finished the season 25-4 overall. In his final game with Tyler, Butler scored 43 points in a triple-overtime loss to Panola (TX) in the regional tournament, a feat that attracted the attention of NCAA Division I programs. A lone season with the Apaches was all it took to showcase his potential for the next level. "You knew he was going to be very, very good, (but) was everything else going to fall in place? That was a tough call," Marquis said in a 2011 interview with Tyler Morning Telegraph. Tyler wound up being Butler's ticket to success and prepared the young player for endeavors to come.
Like Butler, Crowder's talent in high school was overlooked and the under-recruited hopeful had more noticeable ability in football than basketball. In 2010, the Times-Georgian, a local paper in Carrollton, GA described him as "a good, but not great, high school player." The Villa Rica native's biggest offer was from nearby NCAA DII school West Georgia, but instead Crowder took an opportunity at South Georgia Tech to improve his game. Crowder helped the Raiders to their first-ever NJCAA national tournament appearance in 2008-09 where they finished with a 21-7 record. A chiseled physique and admirable height was a result of hard work with the Jets, but it was time to further his academic and athletic career through another opportunity at tradition-rich Howard (TX).
Dominant and decorated, head coach Mark Adams and the Hawks were well-known in the NJCAA DI realm. Crowder took what he learned his freshman year to Big Spring where he led the Hawks to the program's first-ever national championship in 2010. Crowder's performance at Howard earned him 2010 NJCAA Player of the Year recognition and first team All-America honors. Crowder's accolades gained the attention of top-level NCAA programs. For the NJCAA champion, there was much more in store.
Two successful NJCAA career opportunities led Butler and Crowder to cross paths as teammates at NCAA Division I program Marquette, a high-caliber team with head coach Buzz Williams at the helm. A passion for recruiting junior college talent, Williams also kickstarted his coaching career as a student and basketball staffer at NJCAA-member Navarro (TX) where he garnered an abundance of NJCAA knowledge. During Marquette's 2010-11 campaign, Butler, Crowder, and the Golden Eagles reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2003 as the Cinderella No. 11 seed. Along with Butler and Crowder, the 14-man roster was packed with NJCAA talent including Darius Johnson-Odom (Hutchinson, KS), Dwight Buycks (Indian Hills, IA), and Joseph Fulce (Tyler).
Overlooked throughout their careers early on, Butler and Crowder found triumph through NJCAA opportunities. Heading into the finals, Williams offered his words of encouragement for his former NJCAA recruits. "I am so excited for the opportunity in front of Jimmy and Jae. They have worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and like every other step in their journey, despite the odds against them, they each have earned all of it. That they are able to take this next step together, makes it even more special."
As a direct result of NJCAA opportunities, Butler and Crowder rose up to attain their ultimate goal of playing on the big stage with the NBA. From unnoticed recruits, to NJCAA and professional success, Butler and Crowder serve as an inspiration for those to come. Following a loss in game one, the two junior college products look to bounce back and prevail once again on Friday night with the Heat against the Los Angeles Lakers.