April 1, 2008
Indianapolis, Ind. - It isn't the way the two Butler basketball players had hoped to make the trip, but seniors A. J. Graves and Mike Green will be heading to San Antonio, Texas, this week to participate in special events surrounding the NCAA Final Four. Graves will be entered in the 3-Point Championship, while Green has been selected to play in the college All-Star Game.
Graves will be the first of the two Butler guards to compete in San Antonio. He's one of eight seniors who will be shooting for the title of top collegiate marksman at the 20th Annual State Farm 3-Point Championship, which will be held at Greehey Arena at St. Mary's University on Thursday, April 3. The event, which includes the Slam Dunk Championship, will be televised on ESPN at 9 p.m. (ET).
Also invited to compete in the 3-Point Championship are Drew Neitzel of Michigan State, Chris Lofton of Tennessee, Shan Foster of Vanderbilt, Derrick Low of Washington State, Jamar Butler of Ohio State, Brian Roberts of Dayton and Jaycee Carroll of Utah State.
Former Butler players Darnell Archey (2003) and Bruce Horan (2006) both previously competed in the 3-Point Championship. Archey won the men's collegiate title in his bid in 2003.
Green will take the court at the Alamodome on Friday, April 4, to play in the DiGiorno NABC All-Star Game. The game features two teams of college basketball's top seniors and will be played in the Men's Final Four venue for the first time. Tip-off for the NABC All-Star Game is 5:15 p.m. (CT).
Graves and Green helped guide Butler to a school-record 30-4 season, which included a championship at the Great Alaska Shootout, a regular season title in the Horizon League and the championship of the Horizon League Tournament. The Bulldogs were ranked in the "Top 25" of both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today national polls for a school-record 19 weeks. Butler won a first round NCAA Tournament game against South Alabama, but fell in the second round to No. 2 seed Tennessee, 76-71 in overtime.
Story provided by Butler Office of Sports Information