ATHLETE OF THE WEEK : Butler’s Defense Fills Tall Order in Title Game

Mitchell Butler, Oakwood’s Gorilla extraordinaire, stands 6-foot-5. Ted Hahs, Hesperia Christian’s man in the middle, is 6-8.

So, when Oakwood and Hesperia Christian met Friday at Hesperia High to determine the Southern Section Small Schools Division champion, Butler had quite a task in front of him.

It was most likely Butler’s defense against Hahs--as much as his 47 points--that gave Oakwood the championship, 61-60.

Butler held Hahs to 20 points, six of which came after Butler was called for his fourth foul late in the game. The key to Butler’s defense, however, was on the boards. He limited Hahs to six rebounds.

The idea of guarding a player Hahs’ size was not foreign to Butler. Playing in the American Roundball Corp. last summer against players such as Simi Valley’s 6-10 Don MacLean, Butler has drawn some tough defensive assignments.

“I try to work hard on defense,” Butler said. “Fortunately, I have a gift that comes to me naturally as far as shooting the ball, so I feel that it’s important to work on things that don’t come so naturally. And on defense you have to work a lot harder.”

Butler leads Oakwood into the state tournament as Southern California’s top-seeded team in the Small Schools Division. For the first time, the tournament has a separate division for Small Schools. Previously, the division’s schools had been lumped with 1-A schools.

Thus, Oakwood avoids a matchup with Beaumont, the Southern Section 1-A champion, and a school that features 6-10 center Scott Haskin. That has to make Butler happy. Right, Mitchell?

“I don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “I might have liked a shot at him.”