The Olympics were only months away.

``I've been to soooo many doctors, it's unbelievable,'' Butler says. ``None of them could help. Desperate times called for desperate measures.''

So, he consulted a Cherokee medicine man, which contributed further to his off-the-wall training techniques. There were laughs and sneers, but Butler was running out of options.

Butler's routine already included meditation to help him tap his inner energy and improve his concentration. Butler also eats almost no meat or junk food, and he undergoes colonic treatments, which, he believes, increase his strength and stamina.

``It is definitely not a mainstream approach,'' says Christian Lillieroos, Butler's coach.

And now the back is better. With the help of Dr. Thomas Boers of the Hughston Sports Medicine Clinic in Columbus, Ga., Butler is on his feet, training six hours a day and awaiting the U.S. Open, which begins this week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

It will be the tall, lanky, focused Augustan's first tournament since he dominated the U.S. Olympic Trials with an 18-0 record in February to earn his second trip to the Olympics.

His confidence is back. His back is better. But is he completely back?

``Three weeks ago I would've said I was pretty much a mess,'' Butler says. ``My confidence was shot, my back was bothering me so much that I didn't have a game. I would've said that I didn't have a shot to do anything at the Olympics.

``Now things are different,'' he adds. ``From a practice standpoint, I'm doing well. I feel sharp, but I'm not tournament sharp. (The U.S. Open) will be a good test for me. I don't have much time left.''

Still, despite the injury and the ensuing layoff, Butler, who lives in Augusta when he's not at the National Training Center in Davidson, Mich., or playing in Sweden's Elite League, will enter the Olympics as the top-ranked male in the U.S.

Can he repeat his showing at the trials or at 1995 World Team Championships, where he led the U.S. men to the semifinals, the best showing for a U.S. team in a top event in more than 50 years?

``He looks fine to me, but Jim is a confidence player,'' says Augusta's Derek May, a longtime friend and national team member. ``He's not a machine, but he looks real confident. He appears to be in a good frame of mind. This is the event of his life. He'll be tough.''

Butler's growing confidence coincides with his recovery.

His back first started bothering him after the trials. For weeks, he had no answers.

Spasms developed. His training slacked off, his game suffered.

Then he found Dr. Boers, who has worked with Greg Norman. Dr. Boers discovered that Butler's back would lock when he moved laterally, which, in an understatement, happens with frequency in his sport.

``Every time it happened I would get spasms and pulled muscles all over my back,'' Butler says. ``It wasn't much fun.''

Dr. Boers manipulated Butler's legs and back and gave him a series of stretching exercises he adheres to with the devotion of a monk.

Butler used to run, but no more. He sticks to 40-minute walks, in addition to swimming and putting in time on a stationary bike.

``I'm 25 and I'm already an old man,'' Butler jokes. ``I never thought I'd replace jogging with walking. I'm getting old too quick. I'm already broken down.''

Actually, with Lillieroos' help, Butler is in perhaps the best physical condition of his life.

Coaches and peers have criticized his unique training habits, but that hasn't stopped Butler. He has also improved his game, mastering a backhand loop and strengthening his forehand, to go with his already-tough, always tricky serve.

But will he be ready? There's only 23 days until the start of the table tennis portion of these Games.