T
Trent Wood
Guest
His is a story that has been told before and will be told again
SALT LAKE CITY — His is a story that has been told before and will be told again: former Duke Blue Devil, Utah Runnin’ Ute and current BYU assistant coach Chris Burgess.
The latest retelling of Burgess’ basketball odyssey comes courtesy of The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn in his latest piece, “The odd life of the relatable Chris Burgess.”
In it, Quinn looks at every aspect of Burgess’ playing days, whether it be the close of his high school career, his short-lived stint at Duke, his transfer to Utah, NBA Summer League travails and an international playing career.
Among the many interesting nuggets found in the story are Duke star and NBA champion Shane Battier’s initial thoughts on Burgess.
“Everyone knew Chris Burgess,” Battier said. “Before I played against him in AAU, all I’d heard was that he was supposed to be a combo of Laettner and Bird. All I knew was this guy was incredible.”
Also, legendary Utah coach Rick Majerus’ approach to Burgess’ notoriety.
“When Burgess arrived, the Salt Lake Tribune ran a huge profile on him,” Quin wrote. “Majerus called Burgess into his office the day it was published. He held up the paper and told Chris there would be no more interviews, and that once Burgess gained eligibility after sitting for a season as a transfer, he would not hype him up or name him a captain. Majerus — “in his very Majerus way,” Burgess says — told Chris that for once, he would just be a basketball player. He wasn’t going to be the next big thing.”
And whether or not Burgess would change a thing about his journey. Hint: he wouldn’t.
“It’s been odd, but odd in a positive way,” Burgess told Quinn. “But I’m telling you, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ve heard the question so many times. If you could do it over again, would you have gone to BYU? The answer is, I wouldn’t do anything over again. I would do the exact same thing.”
You can read the entire piece at The Athletic.
Other links
BYU Cougars
College Football Coaches Who Removed Themselves from the Hot Seat in 2019 (Bleacher Report)
Utah Utes
No running back forced more missed tackles on runs and receptions than Utah’s Zack Moss (ProFootballFocus)
Utah Jazz
NBA trade deadline: Lists of every restricted, available player (ESPN)
Utah State Aggies
Kawhi Leonard hooped against Bobby Wagner in high school (Bleacher Report)
And finally…
Here is the latest update on former BYU Cougar and Atlanta Braves Star Dale Murphy, who once again was not voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
Here’s a guy who should have gotten into the Hall of Fame tonight, but didn’t.
His reaction? Making sure everyone around him was ok.
I’m not ok. But I’m beyond lucky to have him as the grandpa to my kids. pic.twitter.com/Rt83BGUNEz
— Taylor Murphy (@Tay_Murph) December 9, 2019
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