Iowa State basketball recruiting: Reaction on latest transfer Deonte Burton
By Doug Winkey
Most of you have probably heard by now, but Fred Hoiberg has done it again on the transfer market by snagging a commitment from Marquette’s Deonte Burton. He is in a similar situation to Jameel McKay in that he will have to pay his way for the first semester and won’t be eligible until December 2015, but let’s look at what he will bring to the table in a year.
Burton hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended Milwaukee Vincent, where he was named a consensus top-100 recruit (no. 39) He played for Brewster Academy in 2010-2011, which Cyclone fans will remember as the school that helped Melvin Ejim become one of ISU’s all-time greats. At Vincent, Burton averaged 17.2 ppg and 10.7 rpg in helping his team reach the post-season. He was also named first-team all-state by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association in 2012-2013.
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At Marquette, Burton has averaged around 6.5 ppg while playing less than 20 minutes in his one full season plus this year’s partial one. In his freshman year at Marquette, he was named to the Big East all-rookie team. He scored a career-high 23 points against Xavier and generally seemed to provide energy on both ends of the court.
When he becomes eligible next year, he will become another talented member in what is an increasingly crowded Cyclone backcourt. He stands at 6-foot-4 and looks to be a slasher who likes to poach passing lanes and provide highlight-reel dunks. He shoots well enough (40 percent from distance this year), but didn’t receive enough minutes to really demonstrate his shooting.
He very well could be a Bryce Dejean-Jones-type player, but considering he will play alongside Naz Long (senior in ’15), Matt Thomas (junior), Monte Morris (junior), Clayton Custer (sophomore), and Hallice Cooke (sophomore), it will be interesting to see where he fits in with that group.
Rotation concerns aside, I’m super excited about another talented, highly-touted transfer coming to Ames. Hoiberg always needs high-energy players to run his NBA-style offense, and Burton will provide just that along with multiple years of eligibility as he is just a sophomore in 2014-2015.
Keep your eyes on Clones Confidential as we learn more about what Burton brings to the table.