Joel Cornette, who started on the Bulldogs basketball teams from 1999-2003 that made three NCAA tournaments, died early Tuesday morning.
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The Cook County (Ill.) coroner’s office confirmed his death and that Cornette died at his apartment around 1 a.m.
Former Butler standout Joel Cornette helped the Bulldogs make three consecutive NCAAs. He played on four Horizon League regular-season champions, three NCAA Tournament teams and led Butler in rebounding in three seasons. The Bulldogs reached the Sweet 16 during his senior campaign, which marked their deepest tourney run until reaching the title game in 2009-10. The Bulldogs’ victory ended Indiana’s 39-game winning streak in the Hoosier Classic. According to the company’s web site, he was the Director of Basketball Recruiting.
Cornette had spent the past four years working for Priority Sports and Entertainment, an agency based in Chicago.
“Awful news. One of best coaches I’ve had and even better guy”.
Lickliter couldn’t confirm the news Tuesday morning, but offered: “He was an incredible person”.
The Butler basketball community was dealt another hard blow in what has already been a tragic year.
Cornette graduated from Butler in 2003. Andrew Smith, a center on Butler’s back-to-back national runner-up teams in 2010 and 2011, died in January at age 25 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
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Memorial service arrangements will be forthcoming from his family.
