Butch to keep playing regardless of draft

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brian Butch finished working out for the Milwaukee Bucks with about a half-dozen other players before ducking into the locker room to clean up.

When the 6-foot-11 center came back, he was dressed in a pinstripe suit and tie, looking like an oversized businessman addressing a board of tiny employees.

"Literally, it's a job interview," Butch told reporters after his workout with the Bucks, who hold the eighth and 37th picks in the NBA draft on Thursday.

Unfortunately for the Wisconsin standout from Appleton, it may not be a successful one. Butch isn't high on many draft boards and is considered a bubble pick at the end of the second round.

Still, he showed off his perimeter game — now from the NBA's 3-point line — and was relaxed Tuesday after the opportunity to show the Bucks' brass what he learned in coach Bo Ryan's system.

"The main thing is just to play your game," Butch said. "You can't try to do things you can't do well, because they already know you can't do it well. They're spending millions of dollars on scouting, they watch you how many times. You're not going to surprise them with anything."

Nicknamed the "Polar Bear," the former McDonald's High School All-American averaged 12.4 points per game and 6.6 rebounds this past season as the Badgers finished 31-5.

Butch, who attended four private workouts as well as pre-draft camps in Orlando, Fla., and Portsmouth, N.H., is planning to go home to Appleton for Thursday night's draft to be with his parents, Peter and Nancy.

He said he'll probably shoot hoops in the driveway to kill time. While the TV will be on, he won't watch, preferring to wait for a phone call that might not come.

"If my name doesn't get called, it won't be a sad day," Butch said. "There's some free agent contracts out there and stuff to be had like that. But I know that I've done everything I can do. ... The biggest thing I've heard from a lot of GMs is don't get too high and don't get too low. If you don't get picked, it doesn't mean the end of the world for you."

Dave Babcock, the player personnel director for the Bucks, echoed what Butch has heard repeatedly from other teams that he's visited. Butch needs to prove he can be an inside threat.

"Most teams would look for something else than making shots from the perimeter. How does he defend? Will he rebound?" Babcock said. "He's not a great runner, but can he get by that way."

Butch understands that he'll have to improve either on the end of the bench on an NBA team or elsewhere in a more prominent role to succeed.

He realizes the suit doesn't matter much, either.

"It's better to play basketball, play a game than to work 9-to-5 and have a real job," he said as reporters chuckled. "You guys laugh, so it must be true."

And he plans to ride it out, whether that takes him to the D-League, Europe or beyond.

"It's a game to me. It's something I love to do. It's not work. It's not a job, and I might as well not work and not have a job as long as I can. Might as well keep on pushing (it) off," Butch said. "I have my degree, I'm set for when that comes, but let's play a little bit. Let's have a little fun."