Keeper: Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia

WGP

On Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 10:00pm, WGP elected to keep Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia. Early NBA entries (Blake Griffin, Jordan Hill, DeMar DeRozan) and graduation (Wesley Matthews, Dante Cunningham) completely decimated WGP's roster from a year ago. With only a few players to choose from, WGP went with the most explosive scorer left. The West Virginia Mountaineers' season ended sooner than expected, after being upset by Dayton in the first round of the NCAA tournament. But with the majority of their playmakers coming back, Bob Huggins could have a dangerous team in Morgantown next year.

The heart of next year's Mountaineers' team is Da'Sean Butler. The versatile 6'7" guard was the team's leading scorer (17.1ppg) and finished second in rebounding (5.9rpg) last season. Though the majority of his points come on the perimeter, Butler is hardly a one-dimensional scorer. He played with the idea of declaring for the NBA draft, but never gave it serious thought. If Butler can continue to develop over next season, he would undoubtedly be worthy of a professional contract.

While blessed with size and quickness, the only skill lacking from Butler's game is athleticism. He often settles for fadeaways and floaters, due to his tendency to play below the rim. Though he did showcase flashes of elevation, Butler needs to show more consistency while driving to the hoop. A benefit of most taller guards, Butler's height allows him to get shots off against most defenders. But like all "shoot-first" players, he rarely looked to get his teammates involved, averaging a mere 1.7 assists per game (against 2.3 turnovers). If he can avoid the tunnel vision with the ball in his hands, Butler could turn into a dangerous all-around threat.

Similar to the Mountaineers, the postseason was pure heartbreak for WGP. After getting upset in the first round, his scoring power bolted for the NBA like there was no tomorrow. Clearly, WGP wasn't left with many options looking towards next year. But Da'Sean Butler could surprise some people. In 6 spot-starts last year, Butler averaged a respectable 20pts, 5reb, 2ast, 1stl. He probably isn't worth taking in round one, but he can torch the nets on any given night. Expect Butler to be an every-week starter for whoever ends up with this human heat-check.