Former Tomball Cougar basketball star Jimmy Butler has made it all the way to the NBA and done so as one of the top college basketball players in the country.

Butler was drafted 30th overall, the last pick in the first round, by the Central Division champion Chicago Bulls during the June 23 NBA Draft.

A 2007 graduate of Tomball High School, Butler averaged 15.7 points per game for the Marquette Golden Eagles in 2010-11.

This year Butler, a 6’8” senior, played more games and more minutes than he had in his entire career. Butler saw action in 37 games for the Golden Eagles, averaging 34.6 minutes per game. He also averaged 15.7 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, shot 49 percent from the field and 34 percent from behind the 3-point arch.

In 2009-10, Butler averaged 14.7 points per game, 6.4 rebounds and shot 43 percent from the field.

Butler was projected by many NBA draft scouts to be selected either late in the first round, or early in the second round.

He is joining a Chicago Bulls team which is a potential NBA championship contender and is stocked with talent. The Bulls are coming off a season in which they finished with the NBA’s best record of 62-20, which slotted them to pick last in the draft.

After the top 14 non-playoff lottery teams, the remaining playoff teams from the previous season are slotted according to their final record, from worst to best.

This past NBA season, the Bulls made it to the Easter Conference finals before falling to the Miami Heat.

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