By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The University of Cincinnati lost its point guard of the future before it ever officially had him.

Jamar Butler, who orally committed to UC as a sophomore at Lima Shawnee High School, has decided to attend another school.

The 6-foot-2 Butler, who will be a senior at Shawnee this year, had been expected to sign a national letter of intent with UC in November.

Butler could not be reached for comment, but his mother, Nancy, confirmed Tuesday night that he has decided not to attend UC.

"We're really not going to talk to anyone until Monday," she said, "out of respect for everyone involved. There's just a lot going on right now."

She said Butler has decided which school he will attend and that it's not UC.

Speculation immediately centered on Ohio State, which was one of the schools Butler considered before making his commitment to UC.

According to the Web site OhioPreps.com, Butler has developed a friendship with Troy (Ohio) High School's Matt Terwilliger, who chose Ohio State over UC this summer. Butler and Terwilliger reportedly were teammates on the same AAU team.

Butler averaged 30.1 points, 7.8 assists and 6.0 rebounds last season at Shawnee and was the only junior to be named to the Associated Press' Division II all-Ohio first team. He has scored more than 1,700 points in his three seasons.

NCAA rules prevent UC's coaches from commenting on a recruit before he signs a letter of intent.

When he announced his intention to attend UC in November 2002, Butler told the Lima News he "wanted to be a Bearcat since the sixth grade."

Butler's mother also said Jamar broke his wrist a couple of weeks ago. It was not a basketball injury.

The loss of Butler leaves UC with three scholarships to fill for its 2005 recruiting class, and without an heir apparent to point guards Nick Williams and Chadd Moore.

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com