Michigan Wolverines sophomore point guard Trey Burke, who racked up a slew of awards this past season including the Wooden Award, AP Player of the Year, and the Naismith Award, will be entering the 2013 NBA draft.
Burke, who averaged 18.6 points per game, 3.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists, is projected to be a lottery pick by ESPN's Chad Ford. Burke and the Wolverines went through some ups and downs in the regular season, finishing fourth in the Big Ten with a 31-8 overall record (12-6 in the conference).
Burke was surrounded by NBA-caliber talent in Tim Hardaway Jr., Glenn Robinson III, and center Mitch McGary, and although their play was inconsistent at times, they meshed together in the NCAA tournament.
Burke led Michigan through a tough slate of games in the NCAA tournament all the way to the national championship game, where they eventually fell to the Louisville Cardinals.
On the road to the title game, Burke had to resuscitate what looked to be a dead season in Michigan's Sweet Sixteen matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks. Burke scored 23 points and dished out 10 assists in an 87-85 overtime win, in which he outdueled the likely No. 1 overall pick Ben McLemore, who scored 20 points in the loss.
In the national championship game, Burke got into early foul trouble after a hot start and sat for the final 12 minutes of the first half. That didn't stop him from pouring in 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He also had four rebounds and three assists in the loss.
Despite his gaudy stats, and big-game experience, Burke's ascension to the top of the draft board has been halted mostly by his short stature. While he is generally regarded as a very good prospect, he likely will be taken in the six-to-ten range.
DraftExpress.com has this to say about Burke-- Burke is undersized for a point guard, standing around six feet with a relatively narrow frame, but as mentioned in the past, he compensates for that somewhat with an extremely long 6-5 wingspan. He is a solid athlete as well, quick in the open floor and extremely shifty in the half-court, although not terribly explosive around the basket.
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