Taquez Butler turns it on as Douglass basketball remains undefeated
Taquez Butler had a quiet night until the fourth quarter of Douglass’ 69-63 win Thursday night over TACA Academy in the fourth annual Battle in the Bluff at Bartlett High School.
He had just five points after three quarters, Douglass trailed by eight heading into the fourth and needed a spark.
Butler knew he needed to elevate his game, needed to be the difference if the Red Devils (10-0) wanted to remain undefeated.
He scored more than half of Douglass' fourth-quarter points to get them the win.
“My teammates told me it’s time to wake up,” Butler said of his 13-point quarter. “They know what I’m capable of doing.”
It was the type of run the Red Devils will need if they want to avoid a repeat of last season’s ending, when they lost by one point to Alcoa in the TSSAA 2A state championship game.
"The silver (ball) don’t look good enough,” senior forward Jarmon Brittman said. “We like the gold.”
Butler is at the forefront of Douglass' team, averaging 17.8 points per game this season.
He's a player Douglass coach Greg Williams enjoys having on the roster.
"Taquez is one of those basketball players, you love to coach,” he said. “The young man can do practically everything on the court.”
But it’s more than Butler who helped Douglass to a hot start. Brittman provides an energy that keeps the team alive, even during double-digit deficits. He finished with a team-high 19 points.
And with Terrance Holley, Herman Powell and the rest of the roster, the depth makes them a dangerous team, even this early in the season.
“We’ve got an amazing team where anybody can spark at any minute,” Brittman said.
Williams said what makes his team so coachable is the players' ability to put their own stats aside for the team. As Britton went off in the first half, the Red Devils found ways to keep him involved.
When Butler scored five straight points and helped them gain the lead late, his teammates didn’t hesitate to keep feeding him.
That’s what Butler does — he delivers when his team needs him to.
"They look for me to score the ball, execute the ball, play defense and get my team going,” he said. “That’s what I got to do.”
Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @wynstonw__.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Taquez Butler pushes Douglass basketball in Battle in the Bluff win
