For one Kentucky basketball player, a major opportunity is about to present itself
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2023-24 College Basketball Preview
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A little more than four months ago, when Jordan Burks became a late commitment to Kentucky’s recruiting class of 2023, it would have been difficult to predict the spot he’s in now.
Whatever Burks’ expectations were at the time of that commitment — and most Kentucky recruits, no matter where they’re ranked, think they can make an immediate impact — the position he’s in this week probably wasn’t on anyone’s mind back then.
With the Wildcats taking the court for their first exhibition game against Georgetown College on Friday night, the 6-foot-8 freshman wasn’t expected to be in that starting five. No surprise there.
But he almost certainly could expect some extended run relatively early. That playing time is likely to extend into the start of the regular season. And that is a surprise.
The circumstances of Kentucky’s beleaguered frontcourt have created this opportunity.
Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso remain sidelined from UK practices due to offseason foot injuries. It sounds unlikely that either will return in time for the Nov. 6 opener. Fellow 7-footer Zvonimir Ivisic is still trying to work his way into game shape — and still awaiting his NCAA eligibility — following a late arrival in Lexington. It doesn’t sound like “Big Z” will be ready to make a meaningful impact on the early stage of Kentucky’s season either.
That will leave 6-9 forward Tre Mitchell as the team’s starting center, but he can’t play 40 minutes a game. And that’s where Burks will get his chance.
This has already happened once before. The first time, it took a little convincing.
Burks was listed as a small forward on the recruiting websites. He competed in the Overtime Elite League, and he played on the perimeter. He shot a lot of 3s. He shot a lot, period, averaging an eye-popping 19.9 field-goal attempts per game and leading the OTE in scoring.
But his game was raw and needed refinement. He was listed as a three-star recruit. Around the time of his commitment, scouts figured he’d be a possible contributor off the bench — and that was a big maybe — if he could buy into John Calipari’s system, especially on defense. But, Jordan Burks: backup UK center? That wasn’t high on any list of predictions.
Then the whispers of an injury to Bradshaw were confirmed, Onyenso went down the day before the GLOBL JAM opener, and Calipari had to scramble.
The plan: Mitchell at the 5, with Burks to back him up.
That’s what Calipari did for the first game of that exhibition tournament in Canada, and he implied afterward that Burks wasn’t all-in on the arrangement.
“He’s not a center,” Calipari said. “Driving him crazy that he’s gotta be center. I said, ‘Do you want to play?’ You got a choice: ‘play this position or not play.’ I mean, I don’t know what to tell ya.”
Burks played that role over four games. And he had his moments. A couple of highlight-reel plays that displayed his athleticism. A few head-scratchers that were to be expected for a freshman playing out of position. But the intrigue that marked his arrival was evident.
“You’re gonna be able to see him do stuff … that you’ll say, ‘Whoever said this kid is a three-star? Where did that come from?’ I have no idea. … He ain’t a three-star,” Calipari said.
The praise has continued into this preseason.
He was impressive at UK’s Pro Day event two weeks ago. He scored 20 points as the starting center for the victorious Blue team in the Cats’ annual scrimmage last weekend.
“He just plays to the training. He’s not trying to show anything,” Calipari said that night. “The guys that are trying to show — you don’t look good. You think you do, but you don’t. He just plays to the training, and he plays really hard. He’s playing, quote, ‘out of position.’ Because we’re beat up. But he’s doing great. Happy for him.”
Calipari noted how well Burks played off the ball, getting into a scoring position so he could take passes and finish at the basket. The UK coach also said Burks was the subject of inquiries from NBA scouts at the Pro Day sessions.
“(One of) the guys they were most impressed with was Jordan Burks,” he said at a speaking engagement in Louisville on Monday. “Partly, because they didn’t know who he was. But the other part was how he played.”
Burks gets his chance
How the freshman plays in the early part of the season is likely to be crucial both for the team’s success and his own opportunities later on.
He acknowledged some initial resistance to Calipari’s plan over the summer. Play the 5? That’s not his game. But, better to mix it up in the paint than watch from the sidelines, right?
Burks recalled the ultimatum during an interview this week — “When he said that: ‘You want to play or you don’t want to play?’” — and his expression to end that retelling made it clear. Of course, he wanted to play. And whatever hesitancy he had in July, he sure seems fully bought in now.
“On the defensive end, making sure I’m saying the right reads. Hitting my man. Blocking out. Rebounding,” Burks said excitedly of the role he’s playing. “And then on the offensive end, setting hard screens. Rolling to the basket hard. Just hitting open shots. When I have an open lane, attack the lane. Just keeping it real simple. Not playing with an ego. Just playing basketball the right way. Being a role player. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Those words have to sit well with Calipari as he tries to figure out his frontcourt.
Burks at the 5 might not be the long-term solution. Bigger and better and more experienced centers will certainly be waiting for Kentucky down the line. But if he continues to play his part in Calipari’s plan, perhaps the playing time will be there even when a couple of those injured bigs return. And maybe the UK coach will see enough to give him a chance at another position.
Whatever happens next, Burks has an opportunity now. And four months ago, that was far from a certainty.
“It’s positionless basketball now. It’s 2023,” Burks said. “There’s bigs that are 7-2 out there on the perimeter. So it really doesn’t matter where you’re at. Because I know that if I have to go against someone that’s bigger than me, they’re not gonna be faster than me. There’s always an advantage to a disadvantage. It’s 5-on-5. We’re just playing basketball. So it don’t matter if I’m the 1 or the 5. We’re gonna hoop. We’re gonna play the right way. …
“You can’t think about yourself. You have to think about the team. So, I just do it. You can’t think about it. You just do it.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2023 at 11:45 AM.
