Coach Jay Butler is Mr. 100
Fred Jeter | 12/23/2021, 6 p.m.
Coach Jay Butler’s 100th coaching victory at Virginia Union University is in his rear-view mirror.
Now he’s going to work on his next 100 wins.
In his sixth season, Coach Butler racked up No. 100 on Dec. 14, with a home victory over CIAA opponent Livingstone College.
Coach Butler’s overall record is now 103-62 (8-3 this season) ... and he nearly got win 104 on Sunday, Dec. 19, in the Panthers’ gallant effort in South Florida.
VUU took Nova Southeastern University, the No. 5 ranked team in NCAA Division II, into overtime before falling 93-88 in Fort Lauderdale.
It would have been a head-turning and rankings’ jumbling upset on the 10-0 Sharks’ home floor.
The Panthers’ Robert Osborne of Richmond had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Raemaad Wright of Suffolk had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Off the bench, Tahj Harding, a 6-foot-5 freshman from Kentucky, added 18 points in his best game as a Panther.
VUU is off until a Jan. 5 date at Barco-Stevens Hall with Bluefield State University of West Virginia.
Coach Butler is VUU's fourth coach since the retirement of Dave Robbins in 2008. He was a star as a Panthers guard long before taking over the coaching duties. Playing under Coach Robbins and with star Ben Wallace in the 1990s, Butler was the primary ball handler at the time as the Panthers went 107-14.
