The Daily OrangeIthaca's Burton keeps up scoring pace in final season
By David F. Baer
Posted: 3/3/09, 12:49 AM EST Section: Sports
Three years after Sean Burton showed up on the Ithaca College campus as a 5-foot-9 freshman point guard, he is racking up the hardware playing in an offensive system assistant coach Nevada Smith designed specifically for him.
Burton arrived at Ithaca as a freshman with plenty of potential, so much in fact that he split time at point guard with then-senior captain Jonathan Whetstone. He finished his freshman season averaging nine points and just fewer than three assists per game.
As his importance to the Bombers increased, so did his numbers. This season, he led his conference in points (22) and assists (7.9) per game, while also leading it in free-throw percentage (91.6). This, combined with Ithaca's 24-2 record, earned him his second consecutive Empire 8 Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award and his third straight appearance on the All-Conference first team.
"It's a great accomplishment, it really is," Burton said. "But I attribute it most to the way the whole team played. Yes, it is an individual honor, but it goes right along with how well we played as a team."
With a slew of sharpshooting newcomers to the Bombers roster, head coach Jim Mullins expected a bump in Burton's assists, while predicting his scoring average might dip.
He was half right.
"We added a bunch of 3-point shooters to our team, and I expected Sean's assist numbers to go up, but I never imagined he would be scoring more too," Mullins said. "He has been so much fun to watch from a basketball standpoint, especially this year."
Burton has been particularly entertaining when the Bombers play Nazareth College (N.Y.). For his career, he averaged 22.3 points per game against the Golden Flyers, including his first-ever 20-point game his freshman season, and a pair of 30-plus scoring efforts his senior year.
But what impresses his coaches the most is how well he has developed as a player and a leader. Even when surrounded by more offensive options, Burton's scoring average did not dip. In fact, he paced the Bombers for the team's best scoring season ever.
Burton arrived at Ithaca as a freshman with plenty of potential, so much in fact that he split time at point guard with then-senior captain Jonathan Whetstone. He finished his freshman season averaging nine points and just fewer than three assists per game.
As his importance to the Bombers increased, so did his numbers. This season, he led his conference in points (22) and assists (7.9) per game, while also leading it in free-throw percentage (91.6). This, combined with Ithaca's 24-2 record, earned him his second consecutive Empire 8 Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award and his third straight appearance on the All-Conference first team.
"It's a great accomplishment, it really is," Burton said. "But I attribute it most to the way the whole team played. Yes, it is an individual honor, but it goes right along with how well we played as a team."
With a slew of sharpshooting newcomers to the Bombers roster, head coach Jim Mullins expected a bump in Burton's assists, while predicting his scoring average might dip.
He was half right.
"We added a bunch of 3-point shooters to our team, and I expected Sean's assist numbers to go up, but I never imagined he would be scoring more too," Mullins said. "He has been so much fun to watch from a basketball standpoint, especially this year."
Burton has been particularly entertaining when the Bombers play Nazareth College (N.Y.). For his career, he averaged 22.3 points per game against the Golden Flyers, including his first-ever 20-point game his freshman season, and a pair of 30-plus scoring efforts his senior year.
But what impresses his coaches the most is how well he has developed as a player and a leader. Even when surrounded by more offensive options, Burton's scoring average did not dip. In fact, he paced the Bombers for the team's best scoring season ever.
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