After a year of uncertainty while taking care of his grandma who was pushing him to go back to school and play basketball, Troy Butler found himself on the Castleton campus looking for his chance to do what his grandma wanted for him and get back on the court.

“I began the hunt on looking for opportunities and I stumbled upon Castleton after seeing some information online and having my old juco coach reach out to Culpo. He gave the word, and Culpo had me up for a visit and I was sold on the opportunity,” Butler said.

“We actually never saw Troy play in person, we went off of tape and SUNY Adirondack’s coach’s recommendation. That combination was enough for us to recruit him here. From the tape, we could see that he was physically gifted and had a gear that nobody else in our program possessed,” said head coach Paul Culpo.

The sophomore guard joined the Spartans during the second half of the year and has fit in like a glove on the court. Butler has started all 13 games he’s played in while averaging 15.2 points per game with a 30% field goal percentage.

“We were excited for our second half due to making two great additions to the team and Troy was one of them,” said assistant coach Joe Russell.

Despite coming in halfway through the season, and it’s never easy to bring in a player midseason, Culpo feels as through the transition with Butler coming in was much smoother due to him being at the practices in the fall.

Since joining the Spartans, Butler has been the leading scorer, but Culpo says it hasn’t come without adjustments. “Troy is so physically gifted; probably has as much physical ability as any player I have ever coached. The challenge has been getting him to harness that talent. He is learning to play the game in a manner that benefits the team over his individual talent, something he really hasn’t had to do in the past,” he said.

“For example, in our win versus Eastern Connecticut, Troy only shot the ball nine times, yet his impact on us winning that game was by far the biggest impact he has had on any game this season, and he has taken upwards to 20+ shots in many other games. So, for him he is learning to harness and use his gifts in a way that is still new to him. It’s a work in progress,” Culpo said.

Leading up to Butler becoming a Spartan, in August prior to coming to Castleton, his grandmother who had pushed him to get back on the court had passed away.

“I continue to play with her living through me,” Butler said.

Even with her passing, she left Troy with a gift from pushing him to get back on the court and becoming a Spartan. 

“The best part about being a Spartan is the connection basketball was able to bring me with my teammates. I have built what I believe is a lifetime brotherhood and the joy of playing basketball and sharing the court with a great group of guys goes a long way,” Butler said.

Butler and the Spartans look to build off their 77-64 victory over Eastern Connecticut going into the final game of the season against University of Southern Maine at Glenbrook Gym on Saturday Feb. 22.