The View From Wisconsin

So, how many times has your place of employment been mentioned in ESPN: The Magazine?

In the January 29th, 2007 issue, Chris Palmer has a write-up in the NBA Insider page about Caron Butler. Butler grew up in Racine, and graduated from my high school, Washington Park.

However, it was the "other" school that he attended that was where we crossed paths. Back in 1994, when I was just finishing up my first year as a YC at Ethan Allen School, Butler was placed at the facility for a gun and cocaine possession charge - something Palmer mentions in the article.

What I find funny is, Butler talks about the "scars" he has from playing street ball on the courts at EAS, and how the stakes were for "prize booty like Mountain Dew and Little Debbie snack cakes." Even then, that was considered to be against institution rules, as the unauthorized exchange of property (especially gambling on contests like hoops) isn't permitted. Part of me would love to just drop him a line and tell him he has five hours of confinement for that revelation... but I think he'd just laugh it off.

Caron has come back to visit EAS since joining the NBA out of UConn, right after the 2005 season (when the Lakers were eliminated from the playoff race). I admire the kid, but as a supervisor pointed out to me last night, what happened to the other five thousand-odd kids who thought they could make the NBA out of Ethan Allen?

PHOTO: Washington Wizards' Caron Butler backs into New York Knicks' Quentin Richardson during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007. The Wizards won 99-98; Butler had a team-high 27 points. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson) Photo taken from ESPN.com's archives.