Rasual Butler has been a face for the New Orleans Hornets in summer camps
It was about this time last summer that Rasual Butler began to turn things around from a difficult season that saw him spend more time on the bench than on the floor.
He worked out, got himself into better shape and shot thousands of baskets, working on a game that had gone stale.
Now this summer, Butler is one of the faces of the team. He has been the key player in the Hornets Summer Hoops series, a traveling basketball clinic that teaches young players fundamentals.
Today, Butler and the camp were at the Alario Center, working with a group of kids ages 7-14.
It's a lot more fun this summer, that's for sure. But, if he had any thoughts about maybe taking a vacation during his summer vacation, all he has to do is look in the Hornets' summer league boxscore and see that rookie Marcus Thornton is averaging double digit scoring. That's enough to keep a veteran player, who has one year left on his contract, in the gym.
Though he anticipates tough competition, Butler said he has no intentions of losing his starting job that he won this past season.
"I always feel competition is healthy and you need to have guys who can intensify practices,"
Butler said. "People need to know that they have to come to work everyday. But I want to do anything and everything I can to help him (Thornton), so his road wont be as bumpy as mine."
Thornton scored a team-high 22 points in Sundays 92-86 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, and had 19 last night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
See more on Thornton and how he's hoping to make an impact in Friday's editions of The Times-Picayune.
