A banner hanging on the wall of Latrobe High School’s gymnasium shows any boys basketball player who has scored 1,000 career points for the Wildcats. The banner is a snapshot into the scoring prowess of the Butler brothers.
But the banner will be taken down soon and redone. There are 1,000 more reasons for the makeover.
The banner will serve as a historical display, if you will, because when it comes to scoring 1,000 points at Latrobe, a Butler did it.
Not once.
Not twice.
Not thrice.
But four times.
Latrobe senior Max Butler scored his 1,000th point in a game Wednesday and made the band of Butlers the Four Tops of WPIAL 1,000-point scorers. Max, a senior guard, is the last of the four Butler brothers to play at Latrobe, and older brothers Austin, Bryce and Landon also scored more than 1,000 career points.
In the history of WPIAL basketball — boys and girls — only two families are known to have had four siblings score 1,000 points. They are the Luthers of Hampton and the Bellhys of Fort Cherry. The Luthers and Bellhys had both brothers and sisters score 1,000.
The Butlers are the first family in WPIAL basketball to have four boys score 1,000. Take a bow for making history, Butlers.
“Once we have kids, it will be something to show them,” said Austin Butler, who at 26 is the oldest sibling. “To be able to walk in that gym now and see four brothers’ names on that banner, that’s a pretty cool thing.”
Heck, there are WPIAL schools that don’t have four boys total with 1,000 points in the history of their school. Now one family in Latrobe has four boy siblings with 1,000. You can be sure there isn’t a plethora of families in the history of U.S. high school basketball who have had four boys score 1,000.
At Eric and Michele Butler’s home, all four of the Butler boys had their own bedroom growing up and Austin, Bryce and Landon turned their bedrooms into a ballroom. The three of them were all given a ball to commemorate their 1,000 points — and all three of those balls are in a case in their bedrooms. Max’s bedroom now will turn into another ballroom.
“Actually, I hadn’t thought too much about the four of us scoring 1,000, but it started hitting me more lately,” Max said. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity because I know now it is like history being made.”
It’s not “like.” It is history.
And how’s this for brotherly coincidences: Max scored his 1,000th point against Albert Gallatin, and Austin scored his 1,000th against Albert Gallatin. Landon and Bryce both scored their 1,000th point against Penn-Trafford. And dad has been on the Latrobe bench for every one of his sons’ 1,000th point night. Eric Butler has been an assistant coach under Brad Wetzel ever since Wetzel was hired as coach in 2002.
“I don’t think anyone wanted to say it directly to Max, but I think there was some pressure going into the season to be the fourth one to get 1,000,” Austin Butler said. “I mean, I don’t think he wanted to be the one to not get it.”
Making their points
Think of it: Four boys from one family, all guards, account for more than 5,000 points at their school. After Latrobe beat Albert Gallatin Wednesday, the Butlers point total was 5,264.
Austin graduated from Latrobe in 2017 with 1,905 points, Bryce in 2016 with 1,157 and Landon in 2023 with 1,185. Max has 1,017.
Maybe scoring 1,000 points is a hereditary thing for the Butlers. Dad scored around 1,400 in his days as a standout at Ridgway High School in Elk County before going on to play on a Robert Morris team that made the NCAA tournament in 1990 and gave a real scare to Kansas before losing 79-71 in a first-round game. Eric eventually transferred to Eastern Kentucky and finished at Slippery Rock.
Eric Butler met his wife when they were in high school. Michele Butler attended Elk County Catholic near Ridgway and was a volleyball player and track runner.
Eric Butler was amazed he kept having boys because he was sure one had to be a girl. But the four boys were born — and the points started to add up years later.
The Butlers put a half-basketball court in the backyard of the family home years ago, and the boys spent countless days and hours honing their skills on the court — and also playing two-on-two games. As brothers would have it, those games could get heated.
“It never got heated when the four played. It would get heated when Austin and Bryce played,” Eric Butler said with a laugh.
Working brothers
The family also has an in-ground pool at their house. Who says four brothers can’t carry a basketball game over to the pool? There is a hoop just outside the pool, and even now, when all of the brothers are home in the summer, there are two-on-two games in that pool. But considering the Butlers’ accomplishments, that’s a talent pool.
“A lot of kids don’t really come into their own until maybe their junior year,” Wetzel said. “So it’s pretty remarkable to have four of them all score 1,000.”
Eric Butler said Wetzel has been like a second father to his four boys. Wetzel praises the Butler boys for more than talent. All of the Butlers were excellent students, with grade-point averages of 3.6 or higher.
“I had a college coach come to practice once and said about Austin, ‘You’re a lucky coach because he has talent, but your best player is your hardest worker,’ ” Wetzel said. “He told me a lot of coaches don’t have that, and when your best player is not your hardest worker, it can make things tough.
“But that’s not the Butlers. The Butlers are hard-working kids.”
Where are they now?
• Austin Butler played major-college basketball at Holy Cross first and then Charlotte. He scored 1,713 collegiate points and now plays professionally in the FIBA 3x3 league. Austin, who currently lives at his parent’s home in Latrobe, has hopes of possibly making the U.S. Olympic 3x3 team in the future.
• Bryce Butler, 22, played a few years in college at West Liberty (NCAA Division II) and did well. He then transferred to Division I College of Charleston, where he played on a CAA conference championship team a year ago that played in the NCAA tournament. Bryce finished his college career with 2,203 points and is now an assistant coach at West Liberty.
• Landon Butler, 20, spent his freshman year playing at the University of Montevallo (Ala.) but transferred and is playing at Division II Coker (S.C.). Coker, coached by former South Fayette High School player Mike Lamberti, was ranked in the top 25 in Division II earlier this season. The team is 11-3 and averaging 107 points per game. Landon Butler is averaging 8.2 points.
• Max Butler, 18, isn’t sure where he will play in college, but Coker is showing interest in him. More colleges might follow suit.
Eric and Michele Butler are obviously extremely proud parents and will go to games anywhere to watch their sons. It’s not uncommon for Eric and Michele to make a trip to, say, South Carolina for a Coker game, come home and maybe go to a West Liberty game the next day — all while Eric still coaches Latrobe.
While the Butlers all have had that innate scoring ability, they all have something different in their games.
“I wouldn’t say there is a certain thing to live up to in our family,” Max Butler said. “It’s just be yourself and prove that you’re also different than all of your brothers.”
Austin Butler said, “This is a unique situation with four brothers scoring 1,000. But we’re lucky with the teammates, coaches and parents we’ve had. As a player, you want to train and work hard and have some good individual stuff happen to you. But this shows all the work we’ve put in pays off.”
First Published: January 16, 2025, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: January 16, 2025, 6:02 p.m.