Editor's note: ESPN.com's Andy Katz takes a season-by-season look at the Three-Year Plan. Today, he examines the sophomore growth process.

Sure, Indiana sophomore Jared Jeffries and Connecticut sophomore Caron Butler thought about bolting after their freshman season. But now the thoughts look downright silly.

The most important part of the maturation process for a freshman is the summer after the season. That's when a player can actually get better. He has the time to get into the gym to work on the fundamentals of his game, to get stronger through a specific weight program prescribed by the athletic trainers, and ultimately understand how to play at the Division I level.

	Caron Butler spent his summer becoming an all-around threat at UConn.

All this allows the coming sophomore season to become the breakthrough year within the "Three-Year Plan".

Or, it can be the springboard to leave after just two seasons.

"The summer was key for me because that's when I got confidence in my game," Jeffries said. "I played with NBA players over the summer and really worked on my game and got stronger. It might be the most important summer."

Butler said the sophomore season is critical in the development of the player because of the knowledge gained under the same system. The first season is spent trying to figure out where to be, who to pass to and when to take shots. Butler is more assertive and aggressive offensively then he was a year ago. He gained confidence during the summer playing for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim on the U.S. World Championship for Young Men team.

"I know my personnel on the team now. I know where to get them the ball and they know how to get it to me," Butler said. "That's a difference from the freshman to the sophomore season. I'm glad that I stuck around. The money will always be there, but you've got to work on the skills now."

Jeffries and Butler both say they're so much more prepared for the potential physical demands of the NBA after playing one-plus years and spending the offseason in college.

"More than anything I'm comfortable right now on the court," Butler said. "I don't feel like I'm rushing, like I'm in a hurry to make things happen. Look some of those guys like DerMarr Johnson are making a decent living, and I can't knock them because they were a good lottery selection, but I know another year helps me."

And it can get a player closer to at least having a shot of graduating one day if he does leave early. Jeffries is starting to feel like he's close enough that it wouldn't be out of the question to come back for another season to get even closer to his degree, let alone shore up some of the finer points of his game.

"I'm taking 18 hours next semester and an independent study class, so I'm almost a semester ahead of all the other sophomores," Jeffries said. "I'm doing real well in school. I can see more players trying to do what Jason Williams is doing at Duke. A lot of players will want to try and graduate in three years and then go to the NBA. I came back because I want to win a Big Ten title, I want to go further in the NCAA Tournament and be closer to graduating."

Jeffries still wants to beat Iowa, not to mention win at Michigan State. Being a sophomore means getting another crack at those schools after having to go through those teams the first time around cold.

"I played horrible against Texas in the NIT last year and then got another chance in Alaska this season and played well and we won," Jeffries said. "Those are the good things about coming back for the sophomore season."

Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com.