Butler released by Italian team

Former Ohio State point guard and Shawnee High School graduate Jamar Butler has been released by Eldo Caserta, the team he was playing for in the highest level of the Italian professional basketball league.

Butler's departure was announced in a one-sentence press release posted on the team's Web site on Nov. 19, which said his contract had been terminated.

Butler, a starter for three-and-a-half years at Ohio State, finished his college career with 1,313 points. He averaged 15.0 points and 5.9 assists a game as a senior.

After playing a big role on OSU teams which finished runner-up in the NCAA tournament in 2007 and won the NIT last season, he was hoping to be selected in the NBA draft.

When that didn't happen, he signed with Eldo Caserta. He averaged 7.3 points and 2.0 assists in three games with that team this season.

At Shawnee, the 6-foot, 2-inch guard was a four-year starter and scored 2,412 points in his career. He was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball in 2004 and was first-team All-Ohio three years.