Butler was a full qualifier out of Tomball high school and had planned on attending Mississippi State but they ran out of scholarships. To improve his basketball skills and attract more national attention he chose to go to Tyler Junior College rather than signing with a low division 1 school or going to a Prep School. Butler was also recruited and had offers from Kentucky, Clemson, Mississippi State and Iowa State.

Butler led Tyler in scoring at 18.2 points per game while also pulling down 7.7 rebounds and dishing out 3.1 assists. He shot 54.8% overall, 42.2% from three-point range (19 for 45) and 71.3% from the free-throw line (154 for 216). Butler was a NJCAA Honorable Mention All-America selection at Tyler Junior College in 2007-08 and he helped guide the Apaches to a national ranking of 10th in the country and the program's first outright league title in 21 seasons.

A 2007 graduate of Tomball High School in Texas, Butler was a first team all-district selection by the Houston Chronicle. He was a two-year letterwinner with the program at the varsity level and averaged over 20.0 points per game as a senior.