Notre Dame guard Markus Burton wins third ACC Rookie of the Week
Notre Dame has not won the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Rookie of the Year Award in men’s basketball since it joined the league in 2013. With a strong finish from freshman guard Markus Burton, that might be about to change.
Burton was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday for the third time this season for his road performances against Louisville on Wednesday and Syracuse on Saturday. He averaged 22.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals over those two games.
Only one other ACC freshman has more Rookie of the Week honors than Burton: Pitt guard Carlton Carrington, who has four. Georgia Tech forward Baye Ndongo matches Burton’s three, while Duke guard Jared McCain is close behind with two. Burton’s dominance has been more recent — he’s won three of the past nine ACC Rookie of the Week honors, dating back to Jan. 2 and including two of the past three.
If Burton beats out Carrington, Ndongo and McCain for ACC Rookie of the Year, he’ll be the first Notre Dame men’s basketball player to be named his conference’s best freshman since Chris Thomas won Big East Freshman of the Year in 2002.
Burton scored 16 points against Louisville but exploded against Syracuse, particularly in the second half. He missed his first 5 shots from the field but went off for 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 6 assists after the break. Burton did it all, from raining 2 three-pointers to finishing through contact to going behind the back and leaving defenders in his wake.
No. 3 in blue and gold led the Irish on an improbable comeback effort, falling just short as Syracuse won 88-85. Syracuse led by as many as 29 late in the first half.
Throughout the season, Burton is averaging 16.7 points per game. That’s the most among ACC freshman by far, with McCain coming in at No. 2 with 13.6. He ranks second among ACC freshmen in assists per game with 4.3, with only Georgia Tech’s Naithan George ahead at 4.7. Burton also takes the ball away more than any other rookie in the league, averaging 2.0 steals per game.
Those last two numbers rank fifth and fourth among all players in the conference, respectively.
Burton is doing this with very little offensive help, although fellow freshman guard Braeden Shrewsberry has come on in recent weeks. In January and February, Shrewsberry is averaging 12.6 points per game on 48 percent three-point shooting.
However, Burton’s usage rate is still the eighth-highest in the country and the highest among high-major players. It’s not particularly close, either. According to Real GM, Burton’s usage rate is 33.9, while No. 2 is Wisconsin sophomore guard AJ Storr at 32.4.
Burton and the Irish are back in action at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday against Wake Forest in South Bend, and they close out their home slate at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday against Clemson.
