Draft Profile: Premier Point Guard Trey Burke

In the run-up to the 2013 NBA Draft on June 27, the BDD staff will be profiling several projected lottery picks and other draft entrants. Next up: Trey Burke.

Trey Burke is projected as the first guard off the board in the NBA Draft. (Associated Press)

Position: Point Guard
College: Michigan
DraftExpress Prediction: No. 6 in the first round, No. 6 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans

Synopsis: Burke led a heavily hyped Michigan squad to the national championship game, officially announcing the Wolverines' return to college basketball's highest level. Several times at the end of the regular season, Burke exhibited an intangible that makes coaches and scouts salivate: the clutch gene. Whether it was a making a late shot to clinch a game or send it to overtime or forcing a turnover that took away an opponent's last hope at winning, Burke repeatedly showed his ability to perform on both ends of the court when the atmosphere is at its most tense. This is perhaps just as important as any of his skills with a basketball, especially considering his short stature (5'11.75" without shoes; 6'1.25" with shoes) and lean 187-pound frame.

Burke's skills speak for themselves. He creates like a traditional point guard (7.7 assists per 40 minutes pace adjusted), especially excelling at finding teammates in transition with a 4.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the fast break, which is good because his transition scoring is not ideal. However, Burke more than makes up for it in half-court sets, in which he executes well off the dribble and creates his own shot, often preferring to efficiently knock down pull-up jumpers rather than finishing at the rim. That would be an issue for most guards, but Burke is at home in the mid-range, as one of the few areas where his game could stand to improve is behind the arc, where he shot a paltry 38.3 percent as a sophomore, up from 34.8 percent as a freshman.

Burke's ability to score in multiple ways, as well as find shots for teammates all over the court, is complemented by the 1.9 steals per 40 minutes pace adjusted he compiled last season. His quick hands — the masters of his crafty ball-handling and fantastic passing — make Burke a capable ball-hawk on defense, but his size could be a problem when it comes to defending point guards of typical NBA size, who will likely stand several inches taller than him and could either work Burke into post-up situations or use their superior length to put the Michigan product on his heels. Teams have done worse than settling for such a good offensive weapon and forsaking some defense, however.

Quote to note: "On the court, in my opinion, it's totally different. Change of speed with the ball and things like that, I feel like that's a natural strength of mine, honestly. If you watch back at Michigan — even though this is another level — a lot of the times when I got to the rim, it was from change of speed, ball-handling and just craftiness. I feel like I am just as athletic as the guys my size. I don't feel like I'm a super-athlete, like Derrick Rose." - Trey Burke on his comparable athleticism after a pre-draft workout with the Sacramento Kings.

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Hometown Legends in Their Own Right

Ben McLemore guards Trey Burke during the NCAA Tournament. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Ben McLemore was clearly the best player on the floor for the Kansas for the majority of the Jayhawks' season before it ended in the Sweet 16 to Michigan, the eventual national runner-up revolving around point guard Trey Burke. Both ended up at their respective colleges after options closer to their hometowns fell through, either because they eschewed them (McLemore) or there was not enough playing time available (Burke).

Despite a push from his mother to attend Missouri, McLemore signed with Kansas before the 2011-12 season and was an unseen factor in the program's run-up to playing in the national championship game during what was expected to be a down year. McLemore was able to practice with the team as a partial qualifier, challenging starters to bring their best in empty gyms, not just in front of packed crowds.

In the same high school class was Burke, a native of Columbus, Ohio. Before his Wolverines squad played in the national championship against Louisville on Monday, Burke admitted his adolescent hoop dreams included counting down imagined buzzers while pretending he was an Ohio State player. When it came time to make a college decision, though, the Buckeyes had a starting point guard that perfectly fit their strategy and the defensive identity of the Big Ten in Aaron Craft. Burke's decision was surely spurred along by the fact that, given its roster, Ohio State did not offer him a scholarship, even with Burke's former high school teammate, Jared Sullinger, powering the Buckeyes.

The rest is well-known by now. Burke went to Michigan, adding to the program's resurgence and sweeping the college player of the year awards after leading his team to the national championship game in his sophomore year. Whether or not Ohio State would have been better off with Burke splitting point guard duties with Craft is an argument without a definitive answer, but it wouldn't be Ohio if everything went right in sports, would it?

Burke was never a Buckeye. He didn't transfer to Michigan and never had the opportunity as Ohio State didn't give him chase. LeBron James was Ohio, through and through, until the summer of 2010. He had grown up in Akron, a stone's throw south of Cleveland. When the in-state product declared for the NBA Draft after his senior year of high school, the Cavaliers were coming off a season in which Ricky Davis led the team in scoring (I was surprised, too) and the franchise finished with a 17-65 mark, won the draft lottery and held the top overall pick. James' arrival instantly changed the culture and the buzz around professional basketball in Ohio then spent the next seven years trying to bring an NBA championship to the state that relied on his young success, but reached the Finals only once and could not bring home a banner.

His supporting cast was never grade-A, and the LeBron James of those seven years was still far from being the LeBron James of today. Somewhere through the progressions of James growing frustrated and experiencing playing with other superstars in the Olympics, he thought it best not to sign an extension with the Cavaliers. He strung along the franchise and fans, considering offers from other teams before announcing his chosen team on national television. The Decision was a debacle. Fans burned jerseys, cursed James' name and stood behind Cavs owner Dan Gilbert's comic-sans promise to win an NBA title for Cleveland before James could earn a ring.

That didn't happen, obviously; the opposite events took place as Miami's new Big Three claimed top Eastern Conference honors and played in the Finals directly after uniting, then won a championship while the Cavs toiled near the bottom of the NBA ranks, though not without collecting young talent, including point guard Kyrie Irving. Nearly three years later, the strife seems to have dissipated and there is hype around James' potential return to his home state to don a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey in 2014 after playing out a final season in Miami.

The previous seven paragraphs are filled with old news in a time-driven cycle, but they lead to an old point: the influence of a hometown in sports is a powerful thing. Whether it is nostalgic magnetism that leads to a triumphant return for LeBron in Cleveland or a renewed disgust of the Cavaliers' fan base after a second scorning next summer; whether McLemore spent his sole year playing college basketball at the right school in choosing a blue-blood powerhouse known for producing pros instead of the one under two hours away from his St. Louis roots; these are personal decisions, but in all these situations, there must be an inkling of what Burke felt. Shunned by the school whose players he grew up idolizing, Burke became a certified star on the NCAA level at Ohio State's fiercest rival. He wore gold and navy, but even before the biggest game of his life to that point, Burke was fondly ruminating on those backyard memories of non-existent crowds roaring as he launched a final shot with a game on the line, clad in grey and scarlet during his daydream.

More often than not, athletes do not get the chance to compete for the pride of their land, that place they grew up. For every Larry Bird at Indiana State, there are a dozen Dorian Green's playing at Colorado State instead of in his backyard Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. Burke and McLemore are the rule, not the exception. Deron Williams opted to stay with the Brooklyn Nets instead of playing with the Dallas Mavericks, a franchise near his home. But every once in a while, there is a LeBron James who has it both ways; who knows what it is to play at home and away in a sense that most athletes will never understand. Even rarer is someone with the opportunity to return home after turning it into a fiery mess not so long ago, and to be received with open arms.

Of the 82 games in the NBA regular season, 41 are played on the road. When players return, they are typically not returning to an environment where they have spent the majority of their lives or anywhere near such a place. Coming back to a familiar place is comforting for the average person without the scrutiny of innumerable pundits, onlookers and hangers-on carried by professional and, to an extent, collegiate athletes. Loved or hated, hometowns hold a special draw. They all have specifically tailored legends, tall tales and folk heroes. Athletes often get to be all three, but to build such a reputation while performing exactly where you have sown all your seeds? That's truly admirable and, I have to think, exceptionally satisfying.

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Louisville vs. Michigan: No. 1 Offense, Defense Face Off In Title Game

Louisville's No. 1 defense will take on Michigan's No. 1 offense in the NCAA Championship game tonight. (washingtonpost.com)

It was close to happening in the BCS National Championship game and was the matchup everyone wanted to see; the No. 1 offense in Oregon against the No. 1 defense in Alabama. But Stanford ended those chances and instead the championship game was a bulldozing victory for Alabama over Notre Dame.

Stanford wasn't around to end this opportunity for college basketball as Monday Louisville, the No. 1 defensive team in the country according to Ken Pomeroy, faces Michigan, who Pomeroy has as the No. 1 offensive team.

Something will have to give when Michigan's athletic guards and rising freshman forward try to break Louisville's stingy pressure defense. John Beilein needs not to look any further than Louisville's game Saturday for examples of breaking the press. Wichita State and coach Greg Marshall handled the pressure beautifully for 35 minutes, and it nearly earned the Shockers a victory.

For Louisville, it's not just about stopping Trey Burke, even though he's the main target and National Player of the Year. Burke only had seven points on 1-for-8 shooting Saturday against Syracuse and the Wolverines still lead comfortably for most of the game. Michigan has so many offensive weapons that it will take a complete defensive performance from every Cardinal on the court to shut down the Wolverines' scoring.

Both coaches are known for preparation, so both teams should be ready when the ball is tipped.

For years people have said that defense wins championships. Monday night will be a great opportunity to test that theory.

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Friday Roundtable: Final Four Team Most Likely To Repeat Next Season

Can the Louisville Cardinals, or any of the other three Final Four teams, return next year? (yahoo.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: Which Final Four team is most likely to return to the Final Four next season?

Kyle:

I actually would be surprised if any of the teams in this year's Final Four returned next year. Every team is losing key talent and the one-and-done rule evens out the playing field on a yearly basis (except for Kentucky this year, who needed a dreadful season by their standards to return some players to Lexington to mix with this insane recruiting class and be stacked). The fact that this is Louisville's second straight Final Four is impressive.

But I won't take the easy way out and say none.  The question was which is most likely, and while I would love to say Wichita State, because that would make a tremendous storyline, the team is Louisville. If this happens, Louisville would be the second team in quite a while (UCLA 2006-08) with three straight Final Four appearances. Peyton Siva will graduate and even if Russ Smith and Gorgui Dieng go pro, both are juniors, the Cardinals have Chane Behanan, Wayne Blackshear, and Luke Hancock most likely back. Couple this talent with the No. 8 recruiting class coming in, according to ESPN, and a Hall of Fame coach in Rick Pitino and Louisville should still find plenty of success in 2013-14.

Alex:
Michigan. Trey Burke is heading for the NBA, in all likelihood, but the Wolverines' run to the Final Four has showcased a rebuilt program ready to compete as a whole rather than as a vehicle for one star.

Replacing Burke is essential, but the other core players like Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Glenn Robinson III (presuming they don't declare for the NBA draft) and a supporting cast with Mitch McGary and Nick Stauskaus will make the transition easier. After McGary's freshman year, though, things are only going to get tougher for opposing teams, in tournaments and otherwise.

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Friday Roundtable: College National Player of the Year

Trey Burke and Victor Oladipo are No. 1 and 2 in the latest Player of the Year straw poll and will be two of a handful of players battling for the award in the last month of the season. (espn.com) 

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among three of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: If the season ended today, who would be your choice for college basketball's National Player of the Year?

Alex:
If voting ended today, Trey Burke would be at the top of my ballot. However, it doesn't and after a few surprising losses, Creighton is poised for a late comeback with Doug McDermott leading the Bluejays.

The junior is third in the latest NPOY straw poll after making a run at the award last year and with good reason. He is averaging 22.5 ppg, 7.8 rebounds per game and nearly as many nightly assists (1.8) as Indiana guard Victor Oladipo, who came in second in the same poll.

McDermott's race toward NPOY could mirror Jimmer Fredette's. Preceded by a stand-out year on the national stage, Fredette shouldered the workload for his team and won the title the following season. Both players are from schools outside of Power Six conferences, and an argument could be made for this year's Missouri Valley being tougher than the Mountain West in which Jimmer competed when he won NPOY.

Voters have soft spots for athletes from mid-major schools and players whose teams succeed based almost entirely on their play. McDermott fits both those descriptions and Creighton is on the path to finish at or near the top of the MVC before playing in the NCAA tournament.

Kyle:
Trey Burke has been one of the front runners in the NPOY race all season, and for good reason. Burke is one of the best scoring guards in the game and yet is still a great passer and makes his team better. If the season ended today, Burke would receive my vote, but there's still another player that I think has a legitimate chance to overtake Burke in the final month of the season.

I've always been a fan of Doug McDermott, but I'm afraid Creighton's struggles will keep him out of the race. I think Kelly Olynyk of Gonzaga has been the most improved player in the country and has turned into one of the best and most versatile big men in college basketball. Again, playing in a weaker conference without the national attention on a weekly basis as a Burke or Mason Plumlee will keep him from being in the top three.

Then there's Indiana's Victor Oladipo. While he averages fewer points per game than Burke (14 to 18.6), although he is one of the best rebounding guards in college averaging six boards per game, Oladipo seems to make big play after big play for the Hoosiers and has proven to be their most valuable player. Take the Michigan State game Tuesday as an example. Oladipo tallied 19 points, but more importantly, every time a game-changing play needed to be made for Indiana, Oladipo was the one with the ball. With Indiana inbounding the ball with under a minute left in the game against the Spartans, it was Oladipo who broke free from his defender for a wide-open dunk that all-but sealed the Hoosiers' victory. Not to mention Oladipo had nine rebounds and five steals in the contest.

Burke still has the upper hand at this point in the season, but if Oladipo's numbers remain consistent and if he continues to be the most clutch player on the nation's No. 1 team, I could see Oladipo taking the crown from Burke.

Eddie:

The point guard is the most important position on a basketball team. He sets the tone defensively and is the quarterback for the offense. So how is it, then, that no point guard has won the Wooden Award since Jameer Nelson in 2004 (there is some dispute regarding whether Jimmer Fredette classified as a true point guard)? If the Player of the Year were to be chosen today, I believe that streak should finally come to an end, as Trey Burke (G, Michigan) and Marcus Smart (G, Oklahoma St.) have pushed out in front of a crowded field of contenders.

Burke dominates the statistical categories that are typically strong for a point guard, posting 18.6 points and 6.9 assists per game. Meanwhile, Smart does it all. He has a remarkably strong stat line across multiple categories, with 15 points, six rebounds, 4.4 assists, and three steals per game. It may be that no single player in the country is more valuable to his team than Smart. He has time and again led the Cowboys to victory, seemingly by will alone. Not to mention, Smart is still a freshman.

All said, I would ultimately cast my ballot for Burke. He has excelled as the premier floor general in the nation's best conference. He is a consistent scoring threat, whether he is shooting from deep or taking his defender off the dribble. Most impressively, though, he posts an eye-popping 3.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Michigan and Burke ran into a rut recently, but he has averaged 23.5 points the last two games and looks poised to gain momentum down the stretch.

There is no position more important than point guard, and no one I would rather have filling it than Trey Burke. At least until Marcus Smart proves me wrong.

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