— By Justin Jackson, The Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Da’Sean Butler has already been where Jevon Carter will find himself Thursday.
The former West Virginia standout said his NBA draft day in 2010 was filled with different emotions that bubbled to the surface and then made way for even more.
“It’s something you’ve been waiting for since you were a kid,” Butler said. “Growing up, I’d say since I was 11 or 12 years old, all I ever wanted to do was play in the NBA. The closer you get, you start to see so many dreams come true in the draft, and they’re young guys like you.”
Butler was selected by the Miami Heat in the second round at No. 42 overall.
“When your name gets called, you start to think about your family and how much time they’ve put in to support you. You think about your coaches and your teammates,” he said. “It’s what your entire life has built up to. It’s a crazy night.”
It could be a crazy night for Carter, too.
The Mountaineers star spent four years in college making the transition from shooting guard to point guard, all while developing into the two-time national defensive player of the year.
During the past six weeks he crisscrossed the country, attending the NBA combine and holding private workouts for several teams. Carter’s name was linked to the world-champion Golden State Warriors as a possible draft destination. The Magic, Sixers and Lakers also evaluated him in workouts.
Butler, a native of Newark, N.J., has his fingers crossed for Carter’s draft-night destiny.
“I hope he falls to my Knicks,” Butler said. “That would be great. The Knicks would be lucky to have him.”
New York has the No. 9 overall pick and, in a more likely spot for Carter, the Knicks also own a second-rounder at No. 37. Sports Illustrated projects Carter to Philadelphia at No. 36.
Butler and former WVU teammate John Flowers have spent several seasons following college playing professionally overseas. Former Mountaineers standout Kevin Jones played with the Cleveland Cavaliers for a season and also played professionally overseas.
All three worked out with Carter inside the WVU practice facility.
Having already lived the lives of a professional athlete, they see qualities in Carter that could pave the way to a nice career in the NBA.
“His work ethic is just amazing,” Flowers said. “That’s the thing I see with him. I think he can play a long time in the NBA. I think his work ethic is going to carry him far.”
“I would tell him not to put so much into where you go in the draft, but to just keep doing what he does when he gets his opportunity,” Jones said. “You can tell he’s already put in so much work. In games, he gets so many 50-50 balls and plays hard on defense. He just needs to show that he’s willing to keep doing those things.”
Butler’s assessment went a step farther on Carter, the program’s all-time steals leader and eighth-leading scorer.
“My personal opinion is that there isn’t a guard in his class that wants to go up against him. There isn’t a guard in his class that works as hard as he does.
“There are guards out there who may be strong, but they don’t do all the things Jevon does. There may be guards who are great offensive players, but they don’t defend like he does. To me, Jevon stands out, because of that. When you see the leaps in assists that he had his senior year, there just aren’t that many guards out there that have the all-around game that Jevon has.”