Lawrence Butler

Who is Lawrence Butler?

Lawrence Butler is a former American basketball player best remembered for leading NCAA Division I in scoring as a senior in 1978–79 and then getting selected by the Chicago Bulls in that year's NBA draft, although he ultimately never played a game in the league. Lawrence was from Glasgow, Missouri and played college basketball at Western Texas Community College for two years before playing at Idaho State for his final two seasons.

In Lawrence's junior year, his first at Idaho State, he averaged 23.8 points in 26 games played, which led the conference in scoring. The following season, Lawrence's per-game scoring average jumped to 30.1, beating out future Basketball Hall of Famers Magic Johnson of Michigan State and Larry Bird of Indiana State for the national scoring title. He was the first ever recipient of the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year award and was selected to play in the Aloha Classic Basketball All-Star Game, in which the nation's top players were chosen to play. Butler scored a game-high 18 points as his West team defeated the Midwest team, 119–107.

After his collegiate career had ended, the Chicago Bulls selected him as the 11th pick in the second round but he never made the team's final roster. Butler never played a game in the NBA.