Thursday, January 31, 2013
Burke delivering the biggest impact?
By Luke Lapinski
Trey Burke is having a memorable season. He has Michigan ranked No. 1 for the first time in 20 years, and is more than delivering on all the lofty expectations that were heaped upon his shoulders when he chose to stay in school after a breakout freshman campaign. What's more, he's all but assured himself of being a solid first round pick this summer, ranking No. 16 on Chad Ford's most recent big board. And his impact on the world of college hoops this season has been massive.
In fact, our own Fran Fraschilla lists Burke at No. 1 overall on his list of players affecting the landscape of college basketball right now. And it's hard to argue with that. Not only is Burke on the top team, he's the driving force behind everything they do. He's proving to be both a leader and a winner, while also building an impressive stat line of 17.9 points and 7.1 assists per game. On top of that, he's done a solid job taking care of the ball (3.7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio), has been a major factor in helping the Wolverines work freshmen into key roles so seamlessly and has generally made life a lot easier for coach John Beilein. Michigan will go as far as Burke can take them. And, right now at least, there may not be a better player in the game to lean on.
