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Willie Burton and The Career That Was
By Ben Noble
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/265689?referrer_id=331171
When Willie Burton broke his nose the night before the start of the 1989 NCAA tournament, he put on a bulky, burdensome mask and went out and dropped 29 points and 13 rebounds in the first round. The next game, he dropped another double-double. He scored 26 points against Duke in the Sweet Sixteen with that mask on, but Christian Laettner, Danny Ferry and company were just too much for the Gophers to handle that year.
Burton came to the Gophers having won back-to-back state championships with Detoit's St. Martin De Porres high school. As one of Clem Haskins' first recruits upon taking over the program in '86, Burton was a respectable contributor as a freshman, then spent the next three seasons lighting up the scoreboard at Williams Arena. After losing 18 straight Big Ten games over his first two seasons, the Gophers made it to the Sweet Sixteen in Burton's junior year, then went to the Elite Eight in 1990, when the 6'8” All-Big Ten forward averaged nearly 20 points per game.
The Career That Was
The Miami Heat took Burton with the ninth overall pick in the 1990 draft, and the former Gopher had a very solid rookie campaign playing for a Heat team in just its third season of existence. Playing out of position at shooting guard, Burton averaged 12 points per game and made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Burton followed up his rookie season with 50 starts the following year en route to a vastly improved 38-44 team record and the franchise's first playoff appearance, a first-round sweep at the hands of the Chicago Bulls. Moved back to his natural small forward position, Burton finished the 1991-92 season on the injured list while being treated for depression and missed the series.
The rest of Burton's time in Miami saw his playing time and numbers drop as he dealt with a series of injuries, first missing all but 26 games in 92-93 due to wrist surgery, then playing in just 53 games the following season. Still, the Heat returned to the playoffs, and Burton got the lone 11 minutes of playoff experience over the course of his career.
The Heat waived Burton just before the beginning of the 94-95 season, and the Philadelphia 76ers quickly swooped him up. Barely a month later, Burton dropped 53 points in his former team, breaking the record for most points scored at the Spectrum. For the night, he went 12-19 from the field and an amazing 24-28 from the charity stripe. For the season, Burton set a career high with 15.3 points and 5.2 three-point attempts per game for the season, after never having averaged even one three-point attempt per game in any previous season.
After his lone season in Philadelphia, Burton went overseas to play part of 1995 in Italy then returned stateside to finish out the 95-96 season with the Florida Beach Dogs of the CBA. He played well enough to earn a free agent contract with the Atlanta Hawks. Unfortunately, Burton didn't play well enough to make it through the season with the Hawks, averaging just six point per game on 34% shoooting, and the team released him in early January.
Burton returned to the CBA the next year, this time with the Quad City Thunder. Again, Burton played well enough in the minor league to keep himself relevant in NBA circles, and the veteran found himself for short stints on the rosters of the San Antonio Spurs (97-98) and Charlotte Hornets (98-99). Burton never played in the NBA again.
Over the next five years, Burton pieced together a rather eclectic basketball career, playing in the domestic CBA, USBL and IBL, and foreign leagues in Greece, Russia and Lebanon. In Burton's final season as a professional, 2003-04, he helped lead his Lebanese team, Hekmeh, to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup.
Burton currently lives in the Detroit area, but returned to his “second home” of Minneapolis last month where he earned his much-desired undergraduate degree. In earning the degree, Burton removed the only remaining obstacle to him getting his jersey retired by the U, and Gopher fans can expect a celebratory halftime ceremony this season as #34 is hung from The Rafters.
By Ben Noble
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/265689?referrer_id=331171
When Willie Burton broke his nose the night before the start of the 1989 NCAA tournament, he put on a bulky, burdensome mask and went out and dropped 29 points and 13 rebounds in the first round. The next game, he dropped another double-double. He scored 26 points against Duke in the Sweet Sixteen with that mask on, but Christian Laettner, Danny Ferry and company were just too much for the Gophers to handle that year.
Burton came to the Gophers having won back-to-back state championships with Detoit's St. Martin De Porres high school. As one of Clem Haskins' first recruits upon taking over the program in '86, Burton was a respectable contributor as a freshman, then spent the next three seasons lighting up the scoreboard at Williams Arena. After losing 18 straight Big Ten games over his first two seasons, the Gophers made it to the Sweet Sixteen in Burton's junior year, then went to the Elite Eight in 1990, when the 6'8” All-Big Ten forward averaged nearly 20 points per game.
The Career That Was
The Miami Heat took Burton with the ninth overall pick in the 1990 draft, and the former Gopher had a very solid rookie campaign playing for a Heat team in just its third season of existence. Playing out of position at shooting guard, Burton averaged 12 points per game and made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Burton followed up his rookie season with 50 starts the following year en route to a vastly improved 38-44 team record and the franchise's first playoff appearance, a first-round sweep at the hands of the Chicago Bulls. Moved back to his natural small forward position, Burton finished the 1991-92 season on the injured list while being treated for depression and missed the series.
The rest of Burton's time in Miami saw his playing time and numbers drop as he dealt with a series of injuries, first missing all but 26 games in 92-93 due to wrist surgery, then playing in just 53 games the following season. Still, the Heat returned to the playoffs, and Burton got the lone 11 minutes of playoff experience over the course of his career.
The Heat waived Burton just before the beginning of the 94-95 season, and the Philadelphia 76ers quickly swooped him up. Barely a month later, Burton dropped 53 points in his former team, breaking the record for most points scored at the Spectrum. For the night, he went 12-19 from the field and an amazing 24-28 from the charity stripe. For the season, Burton set a career high with 15.3 points and 5.2 three-point attempts per game for the season, after never having averaged even one three-point attempt per game in any previous season.
After his lone season in Philadelphia, Burton went overseas to play part of 1995 in Italy then returned stateside to finish out the 95-96 season with the Florida Beach Dogs of the CBA. He played well enough to earn a free agent contract with the Atlanta Hawks. Unfortunately, Burton didn't play well enough to make it through the season with the Hawks, averaging just six point per game on 34% shoooting, and the team released him in early January.
Burton returned to the CBA the next year, this time with the Quad City Thunder. Again, Burton played well enough in the minor league to keep himself relevant in NBA circles, and the veteran found himself for short stints on the rosters of the San Antonio Spurs (97-98) and Charlotte Hornets (98-99). Burton never played in the NBA again.
Over the next five years, Burton pieced together a rather eclectic basketball career, playing in the domestic CBA, USBL and IBL, and foreign leagues in Greece, Russia and Lebanon. In Burton's final season as a professional, 2003-04, he helped lead his Lebanese team, Hekmeh, to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup.
Burton currently lives in the Detroit area, but returned to his “second home” of Minneapolis last month where he earned his much-desired undergraduate degree. In earning the degree, Burton removed the only remaining obstacle to him getting his jersey retired by the U, and Gopher fans can expect a celebratory halftime ceremony this season as #34 is hung from The Rafters.