Scouting Report – Trey Burke

 

 

Name:       Trey Burke     Age:   20               School: Michigan

Height: 6’0         Weight: 180     Projected Position:  PG  

2012-13 Stats:

18.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 6.7 apg, 1.6 spg, 2.2 tpg (35.3 minutes per game)

46.3 FG%, 80.1 FT%, 38.4 3FG%, 3:1 A/TO

56.9 TS%, 53.0 eFG%, 28.3 USG%, 37.3 AST%

 

SKILLS & ATHLETIC BREAKDOWN

Offense

Perimeter Shooting

Burke continues to improve as a perimeter shooter, and with some adjustments, he should be able to show it at the next level. Burke uses his legs well to get lift, has a high release point, and an improving release time. Because of his size, he often relies on his dribble and using screens to get clean looks, and he is excellent at doing both. He moves well without the ball, and does a good job catching and shooting, especially coming off of screens.  He has good range, but he can rely too much on his perimeter shot, and his shot selection, while improved, can still use some work. Burke also needs to work on getting stronger so he doesn’t need to use so much leg power to get off his long-range jumper.     

Penetration

Burke doesn’t have a great first step, but he uses his dribble well to create space and get defenders off-balance.  He does a good job going to both his left and his right, and is not dependent on either hand to get to the basket. He is very good at keeping his head up and seeing how the defense rotates over to stop him.  Because of his size, he will often fade away when looking to shoot around the basket, but he needs to do a better job looking to draw the contact and still get his shot off. He is uses his strength well to make room for his shot.  The main area he needs to work on is getting a consistent floater/short jumper so he doesn’t end up getting stuck if the help defense is ready to stop him, and knowing when to avoid going too far into the lane.

   

Ballhandling

Burke is an excellent ballhandler, able to use both hands well and doing a very good job protecting the ball.   He has a very good crossover and change of pace dribble, as well as a solid spin move, all which allow him to create space and get defenders off-balance.  He is very good handling pressure and he anticipates trap situations very well.  Burke’s patience may be his best attribute. He has a great ability to let things develop and make the proper reads in most situations.      

Passing Skills

Burke has excellent court vision and is a very good passer.  Burke keeps his head up and is constantly looking for teammates. He is very good at drawing help defenders to him and anticipating where to find an open teammate.  Burke is excellent making reads off the pick-and-roll, and he can be very creative in finding ways to get passes to teammates. His passes are usually crisp and put in places where his teammates can make plays quickly. Burke needs to watch over-penetrating and getting caught without options, and he is still learning to read defensive matchups, though he has greatly improved. Burke is also very good at using pass fakes to draw the defense out of position.   

Free Throw Shooting

Burke is a good free throw shooter with a consistent routine and good form at the line.  Where Burke needs to do a better job is getting to the line in relation to the amount of shots he takes. As discussed above, he needs to look to invite contact and find ways to get his shot off while taking a hit.  He has great composure when he needs to take free throws down the stretch of games, and he thrives on hitting the big shots.   

 

Defense

Perimeter Defense (On/Off Ball)

Burke does a very good job positioning himself well on the ballhandler, and he has improved his lateral movement, though he still could increase his foot speed. He can be slow to anticipate his man’s movements and ends up chasing instead of moving with the ball.  He can pressure the ballhandler, though it is best in short bursts.   Burke reads screens well and does a good job getting over the top of screens against shooters. Burke understands angles well and he does a good job looking for spots to re-engage his man if he gets beat off the dribble.   Off the ball, Burke positions himself well, though as on the ball, he needs to work on anticipating his man’s movements, especially on cuts towards the basket.  He does an excellent job looking to deny or disrupt passing lanes.  Burke also needs to work on navigating through screens off the ball, making sure not to let his man get a lot of room and finding ways to get through screens in the lane area.  He does a good job choosing when to help or to double-team, and understands how to use the sidelines to help trap players.  His defensive awareness has improved greatly this past year, and he can be seen directing his teammates on the defensive end.  He closes well on shooters, but he needs to do a better job not falling for shot fakes.

Rebounding

Burke rebounds well for his size, doing a strong job anticipating missed shots and looking to beat people to the spot, especially on long rebounds. Burke does a good job grabbing rebounds, looking up court and starting his team in transition quickly.

Transition

Burke is very good in transition, both pushing the ball up court himself and running the wings.  As the ballhandler on the break, Burke gets the ball up court quickly, and looks to get space to get to the basket.  He is very good at keeping his head up, looking to draw the defense and finding open teammates. His straight-line speed isn’t great, but he uses his dribble and movements well to find the space he needs to get to the basket. If he gets the ball on the wing, he can be dangerous spotting up on the wing for a jumper.

Intangibles/Summary

Burke had one of the most decorated seasons in recent college basketball history, and it was well-deserved. There wasn’t a single part of his game which didn’t improve from his freshman season. He has the qualities of a great court leader, a very high basketball IQ, and he isn’t afraid to have the ball in his hands in big moments. Some may have issues with his size, but his skill is so advanced, you rarely notice it. He does need to tighten up on the defensive end, and he can be a better finisher once he gets into the lane, but Burke is the best point guard in this draft, and he should be ready to contribute very quickly in the NBA. 

Draft Value:  Early 1st – Early Lottery –  #1-6

Burke would be a great fit for any team that runs a pick-and-roll heavy offense, but he is not limited to that type of offense. He is good in transition, and he can put points up quickly if necessary. The best point guard in this year’s Draft.

 

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Scouting Report – Trey Burke

As teams’ seasons end, more and more underclassmen will look to test their NBA Draft fortunes.  With the time to withdraw from the draft coming up as quickly, decisions need to be made with little information.  Today, the NBA Draft Blog Scouting Report looks at another freshman who is rumored to have one eye already on the NBA – Michigan’s Trey Burke.  Burke had a good freshman year and he was a key part to Michigan’s season, but is he ready for the NBA?  Let’s take a look at Trey Burke:

Trey Burke, Michigan – Freshman

Guard –  6’1, 175

14.8 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.5 rpg, 43.3% FG, 74.4% FT, 34.8% 3FG

Offense

Perimeter Shooting– Burke has all of the components to be a good perimeter shooter.  He has a quick, high release; uses his legs well and has better than average range.  He moves well without the ball, and is very good in catch and shoot situations.  He also uses screens and his dribble well to create space to get his jumper off.  However, he needs to do a much better job getting set in these situations. He has a bad tendency to float or fade-away when taking a jumper off his dribble, making the shot much tougher than it needs to be.   One key point to note – he already has a very good mid-range jumper, an area a lot of guards have been lacking recently.

Ballhandling/Penetration– Burke has a very good handle and uses his dribble to keep the defense off-balance.  He uses both hands and both sides of the court well, and he his change-of-pace and crossover dribbles have improved greatly in a year.   While Burke is quick, he has just a decent first step.  He prefers to break a defender down with the dribble, sometimes to the point of overdribbling and bringing the offense to a halt.  When he does get into the lane, he has good body control and finds ways around help defenders.  However, he prefers to shy from contact and would rather take a runner or a more difficult shot than go strong at the basket and get hit.  Also, he needs to not be so set on shooting once he gets into the lane.  He does a good job drawing help defenders, but he needs to look more for the open man in those situations.

Rebounding/Passing– Burke has good enough speed to get to long rebounds and tip-outs.  However, since he is spending more time on the perimeter with his offense, he isn’t very involved on the offensive glass.  Burke sees the floor well and has good command of the offense.  He doesn’t try to force many passes, and he makes good decisions, for the most part.  He does need to improve how he gets entry passes into the post, especially getting it to his man where they can best utilize it.  Also, his decision making needs to become a bit quicker at the next level – the speed of play will be much faster than he is used to.  I am impressed by how he handles himself in pick and roll situations, especially when he is looking to distribute rather than score himself.   When he is patient and lets a play develop, his teammates would find easy baskets.

Free Throw Shooting – Burke is just an average free throw shooter, but the ability to improve is there.  As noted earlier, his shooting form is fine, so it is a matter of concentration.  Also, with his ability to get into the lane, he should get to the free throw line more often than he does, but he looks to shoot jumpers way too often.


Defense

Perimeter Defense– Burke’s defense has improved as the year as gone on, but he is not ready to defend guards at the NBA level.  He has quick feet and hands, and he positions himself well for the most part, but his lateral movement needs work, especially pivoting and adjusting to changes in direction.  He has done a better job anticipating the moves of his man, but he still plays too much on his heels, leaving him susceptible to quick jump shots and shot fakes.  He has also improved his defense on the pick and roll, doing a better job getting through the screens and knowing when he needs to go over the screen on a shooter.  If he can get lower on his man and improve his balance, he should be able to adjust to the offense’s moves better.  He does a good job closing on shooters and he covers ground quickly, but he may find himself in a lot of size mismatches in the NBA, which means he needs to play shooters tighter.

Rebounding– Burke is a very good rebounder for his size, using his quickness and instincts to get to missed shots.  He has good hands and when he gets the ball, he does a good job getting the offense moving or clearing the ball.


Transition

Burke can be dangerous in the open court, both as the ballhandler or running on one of the wings.  He pushes the ball quickly up the court and can get to the rim quickly.  As with the offense, he could do a better job with his decision making once he gets the defense to commit, but this will come with experience.  On the wings, he is a very good spot-up shooter or if the defense tries to cut him off, he can take the ball to the rim.


Summary & Intangibles

Athleticism – Very High

BB IQ – High

 

Burke will be a NBA player one day, but he isn’t ready yet to make the jump.  His ability to run the pick and roll will be attractive to teams, as well as his ability to knock down jumpers, but he is small, his defense needs a lot of work and he will need to focus on being more of a distributor than scorer at the next level.  If he was to come out now, I say he would probably go in the late first-high second round (25-40) range.  There have been quotes recently about this draft lacking point guards, which may lead underclassmen to declare.  Teams are not going to pick a point guard just because they may need one and there is a certain amount available.  They will pick them because they are available and can help the team.  I think it will be another year or more before Burke is ready to help a NBA team.

 

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