Blake Butvidas '21 Recruiting Profile

 My goal at the collegiate level is to of course get to the next level for basketball and get a bachelor's degree in Biology or Forensic Studies. I feel like I am a great candidate for your team because I am a team first player. You will never see me overlooking a player on a pass or leaving someone open that has a better shot than I do. I have always played team first mentality. I can be a great leader or role player for a team. If I need to come into a team at any level and be a leader I will take the challenge head on and be the best leader I know how. But if I need to come in as a role player, someone that knows their job and what they bring to the team I can do that as well. I am a great team player who knows what his role is as a player on a team whatever that role is for me. What makes me different is that I learn from my mistakes. Learning new plays or I am having a bad game, I can learn quickly and adjust to the new play or adjust to the bad game I am having and try to contribute to the team in new ways. When I was younger all the way until my Sophomore year, I had a lot of trouble managing my anger towards myself when I had a bad game. I used to beat myself up all the time because I knew I could play better and I wasn't in those games I had that were just awful games for me. But I learned that to be helpful not only to myself but to my team was to stay focused at my game and still try but also try different things that are going good for me so I can help the team. I am a very coachable player and hardworking. You can never find me slacking off during practice or giving any coaches attitude.  I go 110% during games and during practice and I will always see my coach as a mentor who is trying to make me a better player because I have learned that if a coach isn't yelling at you or talking to you about things to improve on then he doesn't see improvement and I always want to keep improving. Over the past 4 years of High school I have become more motivated and driven towards school and school work. During my freshman and sophomore and part of my junior years of high school I didn't have a lot of drive or motivation towards school. I was like every other teenager and would rather play 2K then do my school work. I didn't at the time comprehend how important school was and how important my GPA would be for me to getting into college. But I learned, and a lot of my parents knocking some sense into me over these past four years of high school also pushed me in the right direction of pursuing what I want and that is to play basketball at the next level and get a good job for myself. I think the best thing I can take away from myself and what you guys can take away from me is that I have grown. Not only as a basketball player but as a person as well. I have put the things that will make me more successful first like studying hard and working hard in the classroom and to never ever give up on my ability in the game of basketball. I also bring patience to my game as well. The class ahead of me during my 4 years here of high school was a very good team. I never really had a chance to make the varsity team until my senior year. My high school coach always liked that team and didn't want to add any new components so I was left on the JV team for the past two years of my high school career. I didn't like how that went because I thought I was a great player who was ready for the varsity experience, but my varsity coach did not. So I stayed patient and humble and kept working on my game for my senior year to be ready and compete for that starting position. I believe that my last 4 years here have been a great learning experience for me to compete at the next level. I believe that I would be a great player for your team that will always give you 110% on the court and a player you can trust.