I heard the news late last night, but wanted to wait till it was official… Yorktown senior Emerson Kampen will walk on at Butler University. He joins Garrett Butcher, Gordon Hayward, and Chase Stigall in the 2008 Indiana incoming class.

Yorktown Senior to Walk on at Butler
By SCOTT DUNCAN

Yorktown senior Emerson Kampen took a leap of faith in waiting until the spring to make his college decision.

There were times during the boys basketball season that he questioned his choice to wait, but his patience paid off in a offer to be a preferred walk-on at Butler University.

Kampen said Wednesday he has been accepted, will attend and play basketball at Butler.
“I’m really excited,” Kampen said. “I feel like it’s a great situation for me. The team fits my style of basketball. I’m going to go in there and pay my first year, but I’m going to work to get a scholarship after that.

“There’s nothing guaranteed or promised with a scholarship, but I’m on the team.”

Kampen received scholarship offers from Fairfield, IPFW and Wisconsin-Green Bay before the early signing period in November, but he opted to wait until the late spring signing period.

Kampen, who averaged 14.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last season, said if he had not chosen Butler, he would have waited on other scholarship opportunities at smaller Division I schools.

Yorktown head coach Judd Moulton said coaches from Eastern Kentucky, Holy Cross, Missouri State, Montana State, Morehead State and Tennessee-Martin had contacted him to ask about Kampen.

But Kampen wanted to go to Butler.

“A lot of those schools had full rides that I would have to wait and see about,” Kampen said. “But technically, it didn’t come down to deciding between those schools and Butler. I wanted to go to Butler. I put the other schools aside and concentrated on getting accepted into Butler. That was the goal.”

With the Bulldogs, Kampen joins a fellow East Central Indiana player in New Castle senior Chase Stigall. Kampen and Stigall are friends and played AAU basketball together. Kampen also played AAU with Butler recruit and Edgewood senior Garrett Butcher.

Kampen said having friends already committed to Butler didn’t affect his decision, but it makes the transition to college basketball more manageable.

Former Yorktown standout Pete Campbell finished his senior season at Butler in the NCAA tournament.

“Butler, we know better than anyone because of a kid like Pete Campbell, values skilled big men,” Moulton said. “And Emerson’s greatest asset is his skill for his size. I’m so excited for him, and I think he has a great future.”

via TheStarPress.com