I’ll admit…I wasn’t on the “Butler Bandwagon” until the Elite Eight . Frankly, I hadn’t watched any games in the tourney until then but had heard Karen talking about Butler for awhile. She’s a Hoosier and so, naturally, I joined her in rooting for the Bulldogs.
Two finals in two years? That’s crazy! I’ll be watching tomorrow night and probably be joined by several in Lexington Richland School District Five pulling for one of our own teacher’s former teams!
Meet Marcus Nellems: Butler shooting guard 2005 – 2007.
From the Lake Murray Elementary Newsletter (March 31)
Mr. Nellems our itinerate physical education teach, was the shooting guard to Butler University 2005-2007.
Mr. Nellems received his Bachelors of Arts at Butler. He then continued to complete his Masters of Science in
Physical Education at USC. LMES, has a personal reason to support Butler University as they play in the final 4 NCAA Basketball Championship. We are proud to have a former Butler University basketball player in our LMES family.
To see Mr. Nellems’ district web page, click here .
From the Butler Basketball Wesbiste:
2006-07: Played in 33 games in 2005-06…saw action in both of Butler’s NCAA Tournament wins…had nine points and three rebounds in Butler’s home win over Youngstown State…tallied nine points in 19 minutes against South Dakota State…came off the bench and scored nine points in 19 minutes against Gonzaga in the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off…scored six points in Butler’s home win over Illinois-Springfield…hit a key three-point field goal late in the game to spark Butler’s come-from-behind victory over Indiana…played a team-high 29 minutes in Butler’s season-opener at Tulane. Tallied a career-high 10 points and grabbed a career-best eight rebounds at Tulane. 2005-06: Named Butler’s Mental Attitude Award winner…played in 24 Butler games in his first season with the Bulldogs…tied for fifth on the team in three-point field goals with nine…recorded the team’s best three-point field goal percentage (50%)…had three assists in 11 minutes at UIC…hit two key three-point field goals in a 16-minute reserve stint in Butler’s victory against Detroit…had six points, three rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes at South Dakota State…posted career-highs of nine points, five rebounds and seven assists in a career-high 22 minutes against Elon…had the Bulldogs’ highest single game total for assists with the seven he notched against Elon…hit three of four three-point fiel goal attempts in the victory over Elon…came off the bench with five points in six minutes at Ohio State…grabbed four rebounds against Alabama State…scored first Division I basket in Butler’s season-opener against UNC Wilmington at the BCA Invitational. At Marshalltown Community College: Started every game for two seasons at Marshalltown …named a team captain for two consecutive seasons …averaged 9.7 points as a freshman and just over eight points as a sophomore on a team that featured six future NCAA Division I players …led the Tigers in three-point field goals in 2004-05 …shot 38% from the three-point arc as a sophomore …connected on a team-high 63 three-point field goals as a sophomore and 55 three-pointers as a freshman …averaged 2.5 assists per game …finished first on the team in assist/turnover ratio and steal/turnover ratio as a sophomore …finished second on the team in steals as a freshman …earned honorable mention on the 2005 NJCAA All-Region XI Team …Junior College Coach: Denny Aye. High School: Two-year starting guard at Northrop High School in Fort Wayne …earned honorable mention All-State recognition as a senior …high school team captain …helped lead Northrop to its first sectional championship in 15 years in 2003 …averaged 9.8 points and 3.4 assists in final high school season …high school teammate of current Butler baseball first baseman/designated hitter Alex Rinearson …earned four varsity basketball letters …High School Coach: Greg Peden.