Players show Butler ‘ain’t just a football school’

The Butler basketball team is looking to change the perception the school is all about football.

Butler football has won three of the past four 4AA state championships, including a 15-0 season and a title this year.

And many of the players spurring on the change in the school’s image are football players.

“This ain’t just a football school,” said senior Sean Wiggins.

Butler’s basketball team returns all five starters, three of whom will be playing Division I football next year. Riley Ferguson will attend the University of Tennessee as a quarterback, Channing Stribling will be playing defensive back at the University of Michigan, and Wiggins will play linebacker at Ball State University. Returning senior Peter Kalambayi is committed to play at Stanford and was recently named All-American linebacker.

The most important player for this team may be freshman RaeQuan Scott, who is generously listed at 5-foot-11. The guard is expected to be one of the best players in the class of 2016 and already leads Butler in scoring. Scott stepped up his play, especially since the senior football players were forced to miss games early in the season.

Butler’s football season stretched from the summer to Dec. 1 because the team made it all the way through the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs. This meant that the end of the football season overlapped the beginning of the basketball season.

Head basketball coach Donald Kirby and head football coach Brian Hales have a great working relationship. When Hales arrived at Butler as an assistant football coach nine years ago, Kirby was already an assistant there, and the two had neighboring desks. Eventually, they were both promoted to head coaches in their respective sports in June of 2011.

Kirby had limited time to be with his players since daily football practices were at the same time as his pre-season basketball workouts. Instead, Kirby found other ways to practice with his players.

“Most coaches hog their football players,” said Kirby. “But this summer, we had kids come with us to team camp and work outs.”

Kirby also had several players in his P.E. class, where they did a basketball unit.

All four football players missed the first basketball game of the season, but Kalambayi and Wiggins joined the team in time for the second game. Ferguson and Stribling missed two additional games because Ferguson had the flu and Stribling suffered a knee contusion in the state championship game.

The shortage of players coupled with a tough early schedule (games against No. 2 Olympic, No. 3 Concord, and No. 7 Vance in the Observer’s Sweet 16) contributed to an 0-4 start for the Bulldogs.

“Playing four ranked opponents to start the year with no experience, they got baptized by fire quick,” said Kirby.

But once the football players started getting back into the flow of basketball, the team took off.

Butler (3-5, 1-1 Southwestern 4A through Dec. 26) rattled off three straight wins following their slow start. Scott and Ferguson lead the way scoring with 18 and 19.4 points per game, respectively, while Kalambayi and Ferguson lead the team in rebounding with 12.6 and 12.2 boards per game, respectively. Stribbling also chipped in 10.6 points, 6.6 assists, and 3.6 steals per game.

Both Kirby and Hales praised these players for the importance they place on hard work and leadership, making them valuable beyond their talent and size.

“You’ve got to be an example on the court,” said Ferguson. “It’s the same thing as football, you’ve got to lead and people will follow you.”

With these four seniors having won at the highest level of high school sports, they look to take their championship experience from the football field to the basketball court.

“We understand the work it takes to win a championship,” said Kalambayi. “So we just have to work as hard as we did in football in basketball.”