Why Wichita State's newest recruit, Independence's Jamarius Burton, looks forward to ECU game
Before he suffered a season-ending knee injury before his junior season, East Carolina coaches were heavily recruiting Independence High all-state star Jamarius Burton.
After the injury, Burton's summer travel coach said East Carolina -- and many of the other Division I schools showing interest -- backed off of Burton, who made a successful return to the game for his senior season in 2017-18.
Burton committed to Wichita State Friday, deciding to play for former Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall's Shockers. Wichita State plays in the same conference, the American Athletic, as East Carolina. Derrick Wall, who coached Burton on the adidas-sponsored Team Loaded NC travel team thinks Burton will have special incentive when Wichita State faces the Pirates next season.
"If he ends up at Wichita State, it ain't going to be pretty when he plays East Carolina," Wall told the Wichita Eagle earlier this week, before Burton's decision. "I know they have a new staff now, but they were one of the schools that stopped recruiting him because of the injury. It's like once that happened, they all went their separate directions."
Burton made his announcement at a special ceremony at his school that was streamed on YouTube.
Burton picked Wichita State over Butler, Temple and UMASS. Temple, like ECU and Wichita State, also plays in the AAC.
Burton, a 6-foot-5 senior point guard, was one of nine Observer-area stars named to the N.C. Associated Press all-state basketball team. He was a first-team Charlotte Observer pick in Mecklenburg County.
He led Independence to a 31-1 record and a N.C. 4A state championship. He was named MVP of the Patriots' 71-60 win over Wake Forest Heritage.
Burton is No. 15 in Phenom Hoop Report's rankings of the top seniors in the state. This season, Burton averaged 16.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals. He had 10 double-doubles and one triple-double. He had 13 Division I scholarship offers, despite missing his junior year with a knee injury.
This story was originally published April 20, 2018 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Why Wichita State's newest recruit, Independence's Jamarius Burton, looks forward to ECU game."