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Jase Butler surprised the Illini by backing out of his national letter of intent.
Jase Butler, a 6-foot-4 guard who asked for his scholarship release from Illinois shortly after the Big Ten team reached the NCAA Tournament’s Elite 8 for reasons still not totally clear, has committed to the University of Washington and new coach Danny Sprinkle.
On Tuesday, Butler made his intentions known on social media, becoming the second pick-up for Sprinkle, who earlier landed 6-foot-5 Rice guard Mekhi Mason from the transfer portal, giving the Huskies the makings of a new backcourt.
A Class of 2024 recruit from the Bay Area, Butler surprisingly asked Illinois to let him out of his national letter of intent on April 8, two weeks after the Illini lost 77-52 to eventual NCAA champ Connecticut to finish a good postseason run with a 29-9 record.
The left-hander from the Branson School and Point Reyes Station, California, north of San Francisco, had committed to Illinois as a combo guard last October and signed a month later.
“I think they’ve always been real with me,” Butler said at his signing shown on Instagram. “I built great relationships with the coaching staff. I feel like it will be the best for me to achieve my goals, academically and on the basketball court.”
However, something changed his mind. Websites that cover Illini basketball surmised that he became disenchanted that the coaching staff was looking for veteran guard help in the transfer portal, though he has not addressed the situation publicly.
Butler, who played for 28-4 and 23-8 Branson teams the past two seasons, is a heady guard who is best known for his ability to score while taking contact.
Not heavily recruited, he chose Illinois over Stanford, San Francisco and UC Santa Barbara, but then saw his basketball rankings jump, making him a 4-star recruit and a top 100 player, according to 247Sports. He was named the Bay Area Player of the Year.
The Huskies’ previous staff didn’t pursue him, though Seattle University did and made an offer. He seems content with coming to the UW now and a new program under Sprinkle.
“From the moment coach Sprinkle reached out, I immediately knew he was someone that I could see myself playing for,” Butler told 247Sports. “It became clear to me that he is a winner — and winning is my main priority.”
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