{"id":142043,"date":"2025-08-13T09:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T09:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/142043\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T09:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T09:37:11","slug":"friends-prep-stars-back-home-to-inspire-new-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/142043\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends, prep stars back home to inspire new class"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\">\n<li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><img alt=\"Branson teammates Jase Butler (32), Joaquin Aguillon (3) and Semetri...\" class=\"size-article_inline\"  \/>\n<p>Branson teammates Jase Butler (32), Joaquin Aguillon (3) and Semetri Carr (2) celebrate their victory over the Pinole Valley Spartans in a North Coast Section Division III boys\u00d5 high school basketball game, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023 in San Rafael, Calif. Branson defeated Pinole Valley 69-50. (D. Ross Cameron\/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Semetri Carr of Redwood heads down the court during their...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/MIJ-L-REDHOOPS-0112-20.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Semetri Carr of Redwood heads down the court during their MCAL opener against Branson at Redwood in Larkspur, Calif. on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. Redwood defeated Branson 62-54. (Sherry LaVars\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Jase Butler (4) of Branson attempts to get around the...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/MIJ-L-MCALHOOPS-0211-21.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Jase Butler (4) of Branson attempts to get around the defense of Jake Vasquez (12) of Redwood during the MCAL boys basketball final at Redwood High School in Larkspur, Calif. on Feb. 9, 2024. (Douglas Zimmerman\/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"4\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Logan Raven (1) of Tam dribbles up the court against...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/MIJ-L-TAMBOYS-0130-04.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Logan Raven (1) of Tam dribbles up the court against Connor Mulvaney (2) of Novato during a MCAL boys basketball game at Novato High School in Novato, Calif. on Jan. 28, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman\/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 4<\/p>\n<p>Branson teammates Jase Butler (32), Joaquin Aguillon (3) and Semetri Carr (2) celebrate their victory over the Pinole Valley Spartans in a North Coast Section Division III boys\u00d5 high school basketball game, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023 in San Rafael, Calif. Branson defeated Pinole Valley 69-50. (D. Ross Cameron\/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>They grew up in Mill Valley together, bonded by the game of basketball. The sphere\u2019s influence on their lives has connected them, even as their lives have headed in different directions.<\/p>\n<p>Jase Butler is back home before starting his sophomore season at Colorado State University, after spending a year as a freshman reserve at the University of Washington. His former Branson School teammate Semteri \u201cTT\u201d Carr, who graduated from Redwood High in the spring, is heading across the bay to Cal as a highly touted freshman recruit.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re joining forces with longtime friend and former Tam High basketball star Logan Raven, who is launching a two-day basketball camp at his home court on Saturday and Sunday. The camp at Tam High is open to boys and girls ages 8-16 and will include hands-on training, leadership development and a \u201cbehind-the-scenes look at the work ethic required to play college basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a way of giving back to the community, the same community that helped shaped us as athletes,\u201d said Raven, who launched Branded NIL, a startup helping high school and NCAA athletes develop their personal brands, during his freshman year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. \u201cWe want to show the younger athletes what is possible if they stay committed. To have Semetri and Jase come back and lead this in their hometown makes it really special.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Butler played 18 games, averaging 10.6 minutes and 1.9 points per game for a Huskies team that went 13-18 in the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a good experience,\u201d Butler said. \u201cI\u2019m glad I made the decision to go there. I made a lot of valuable relationships there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But in the end, Butler decided to transfer to CSU, which had heavily recruited him while he was at Branson. The Rams went 16-10 in 2024-25, beating Boise State in the Mountain West Conference tournament, and stunning fifth-seeded Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 72-71 to No. 4 Maryland.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was looking for something different, basketball-wise,\u201d Butler said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got a good culture at CSU and they\u2019ve had success here. I\u2019m glad about my decision. Everyone here has been super-welcoming. I\u2019m looking to grow as a student athlete. I can\u2019t wait to get back on the court. I\u2019m looking forward to a successful year with a winning team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carr is looking forward to \u201cplaying the top guys in the country\u201d with the Cal Bears, he said. \u201cI wanted to stay at that level. The best of the best play in the Power 5 conferences and it\u2019s a bonus for Cal to be in the ACC. There are special opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carr joins sophomore BJ Fisher, a Redwood High grad, and Michigan transfer Justin Pippen, the son of Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen, at Cal. The Bears host Dominican University on Dec. 9 in a non-conference matchup.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an adjustment, with the size, strength and physicality, just how everything moves at the college level,\u201d Carr said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s big and strong at the college level. It\u2019s all things you expect, but it\u2019s different when you\u2019re in it live.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Butler and Carr, who won North Coast Section titles together at Branson in 2022 and 2023, hope to pass on their knowledge to the campers this week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll go through drills and all the basics, but even more, we can answer questions about the recruiting process and the new landscape of college basketball, how to reach your goals,\u201d Butler said. \u201cCamps can be super impactful. Some of my fondest memories growing up were talking to older players about the game and about how they got to where they did. Those relationships stay with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carr and Raven played on the same CYO basketball team together growing up and both, along with Butler, were regulars at basketball camps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrowing up, we went to a lot of camps in the area,\u201d Carr said. \u201cI was competing against some of the best players and getting a lot of advice from mentors. \u2026 I want them to gain something from this camp. I want them to make connections, friendships, but also to compete, to learn, and to have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ll be joined by trainer David Moore, the chairman of DMology, who has helped mentor some of the Bay Area\u2019s top court talent, including Butler, Carr and Raven.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBasketball and community have always been a passion of Logan\u2019s,\u201d Moore said. \u201cI knew he could do this and more. This is his passion to help and serve athletes. He wants to help them become global leaders. Logan is one of those guys who is a leader in life and on the court. It\u2019s inspiring to see how far he\u2019s come in just a few years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Originally Published: August 11, 2025 at 6:50 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Branson teammates Jase Butler (32), Joaquin Aguillon (3) and Semetri Carr (2) celebrate their victory over the Pinole&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":142044,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[1339,1369,46022,3102,84519,1317,1337,1338,2295,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-142043","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-college-sports","10":"tag-high-school-basketball","11":"tag-high-school-sports","12":"tag-marin-sports","13":"tag-ncaa","14":"tag-ncaa-basketball","15":"tag-ncaabasketball","16":"tag-newsletter","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115020788220545633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}