MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Former West Virginia All-American Da’Sean Butler began his second basketball career Monday.
He made his debut as an assistant coach with Wheeling University men’s hoops team, as the Cardinals hosted the University of Charleston.
“It’s been in the works for a while, but we had to iron out certain details before it became official,” Wheeling head coach Chris Richardson said. “Throughout the process, our interest in him never wavered and his interest in coaching never wavered.”
Butler was a four-year standout with the Mountaineers, leading WVU to the 2010 Final Four.
While recuperating from knee surgery after college, Butler was hired as a graduate assistant under Bob Huggins for the 2012-13 season.
Since that season, Butler spent the next seven seasons playing overseas.
He is third on the Mountaineers’ all-time scoring list with 2,095 points.
As for adding Butler in the middle of the season, Richardson said Butler had actually met and spoke with the team before the season began, which was a sort of start in making a connection with Wheeling.
“My No. 1 job is to do what’s best for our kids and our program,” Richardson said. “There’s never a wrong time to make the right move.”
Richardson added the final details of getting Butler cleared as a coach with the NCAA are still ongoing.
“The great thing about the Division II level, you don’t have all the same protocols they have at Division I,” Richardson said. “As long as everything checks out, you can coach and recruit with no restrictions, which is what makes Division II a good place to get your foot in the door.
“Knowing Da’Sean, he wants to make this a career, so we’ll work together in terms of his duties and getting him ready for coaching. Maybe the timing makes things a little different, but I think he’s going to be a great fit for our program.”
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