For Immediate Release February 22, 2000
Paris Butler Named Jostens Finalist
RC Senior Helped RC to 2000 ODAC Championship
SALEM, VA--Roanoke College men’s basketball player Paris Butler (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) has been named a finalist for the Jostens Trophy, an award given out annually to the ‘Outstanding’ Division III basketball player in the country. The award, now its third year, is given to the Division III basketball player that excels not only on the court, but also in the community and in the classroom. A pool of 40 candidates was paired down to just 10 on Monday afternoon by the sponsor the Salem, VA Rotary Club, and Bulter was among those 10 finalists. Butler currently is third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points per game, and is a major factor in Roanoke’s run to the 2000 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship which culminated with a 69-63 win over Hampden-Sydney on Monday night. Through the first 27 games of the season, Butler has made 73 three-pointers, just three shy of tying a single-season school record. He is leading the team and the league in both the three-point percentage and three-pointers made categories. In addition to his scoring, Butler is second on the team in assists with 70 this year.
As good as he is on the court, Butler is probably even better off. In the classroom, the Biology/Sociology double-major has a 3.672 grade-point average and has been a member of the Roanoke College Dean’s List in every one of his college semesters. In addition to his strong grade point average, Butler has proved himself as a leader in the classroom. He is the Vice President of the Leadership Honor Society, is a member of the Biological and Sociological Honor Societies, and was the student representative on the Roanoke College Institutional Purpose Committee.
In the community, Butler has had a profound influence in the lives of many. He has volunteered his time at Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital planning and implementing activities for patients with various conditions. Butler has spent a great deal of his free time at the West End Youth Center in Roanoke, mentoring socioeconomically disadvantaged children. Among a long list of other community services, Butler, who even holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, has been a member of the Roanoke College Shades of Maroon and has served on the Roanoke College Maroon Corp.
The Salem Rotary Club has forwarded the list of the final 10 candidates to a national selection committee, on which serves the likes of George Allen (former governor of Virginia), Dave Odom (head coach Wake Forest University), and Michelle Tafoya (analyst for CBS sports). That committee will select the 2000 winner of the Josten’s Trophy and the presentation will be made on March 16th in conjunction with the Division III men’s basketball championship round held in Salem.