Post#317 » by Ell Curry » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:21 am
Dagger,
I'm a Michigan fan. Seen probably 15-20 quarters of Burke.
He's definitely a point guard, which is nice. Not an undersized 2. His court vision isn't amazing, but he never makes you shake your head at missing an open cutter or 3-point shooter. He's got a really good feel for the game in general. He's quick, but not blazing. Hitting 35 percent of his 3's. Streaky in terms of outcome so far on 3's, but to my untrained eye, his form is consistent and really good.
Immediately, he established himself as a leader. Same usage rate as Tim Hardaway Jr., who was expected to be the man this season. Instead, it's dual. Hardaway has been inconsistent, but it doesn't seem to be Burke's fault. Darius Morris was Michigan's PG last year, and he was long, couldn't shoot, liked to pound the dribble and had fantastic passing ability and vision. Because Michigan did not and does not have too many players who can create their own shot (starting to change with this year's class and definitely so with next years') and Beilein likes his teams to use a lot of the shot clock, the PG ends up having the ball a ton. Burke has handled that very well.
Michigan's center, Jordan Morgan hit an extremely high percentage of the shots he took last year, but as a burly center with nice touch but not much of a post game (and even less post plays run for him) who scored mostly on pick and rolls with Morris, fans expected a real step back from him. But partly due to Burke, that hasn't happened. Michigan's other players are scoring more efficiently too. Burke spaces the floor with his shooting in a way Morris didn't, and that helps.
Defensively, I can't say too much. Not Calderon out there, but he doesn't have too many steals. He did play good D on arguably the best PG in the country against Wisconsin from what I saw (while having a very good offensive game), but I missed most of that one, so not sure how long he was guarding him. Michigan play a lot less zone than people seem to think.
I'll probably write about him at the end of the tournament, but right now, I see him as a good starter who helps team win games, rather than one who gets empty stats. I wouldn't expect him to become an all star, because he's 5'11, not blazing fast and a good rather than than Nash or Paul like shooter. However, he was lower ranked by scouts than Michigan's other freshman guard, and has easily outplayed him. He won Mr. Basketball for his state and played better as the competition got better in high school. He put up videos of his off season workouts this summer, and it was clear he was mature and busting his ass to be better. He started off the season having difficulty with his shooting but doing everything else right. Point is, the guy seems to conquer challenges when they arise and play better than expectations suggest he would.
His shooting has improved, and he's now sporting a 109 ORTG taking up 26 percent of possessions. That's great for a freshman PG. Shabazz Napier is doing that as a sophomore, but Wroten isn't anywhere near the efficient, and Kabongo and Teague aren't either. Kendal Marshall is, but he account for about percent of his team possessions.
Comparison wise, he reminds me a bit of Darren Collison as a sophomore or junior, but without the 50 percent 3 point shooting. He's a little craftier and a little less quick. Maybe a little Maynor, too. These are 4 year PG's who I mostly saw as upperclassmen, and there's a reason they come to mind; Burke is a freshman, but he doesn't play like one. I don't know if that maturity means he won't improve as much as raw-er point guards, but I wouldn't bet against him. He deferred to Sullinger in High School, then dominated when Sullinger was gone. I think he's a guy who knows instinctively what his team needs of him, so he's definitely a rotation player, at the least.
No idea if he'll come out. I would lean towards no, but he said this about his father convincing him to decommit from Penn State as a sophomore and go to Michigan instead: "He knew the system would be perfect for my game. It's a point guard's dream," Burke said. "And he had heard that Darius might leave early." So, if he's as canny in realizing that there doesn't seem to be a single point guard in the lottery (Kendall Marshall is the highest at 17th on DX) and the last year without a true PG in the lottery was 2006 (Rondo went 21st), he might come out early.
Where's the D?
