Former Tigers Hoops Standout Also Earns NJAC Rookie Of The Year Honors
UNION, NJ–There has been some mention of the exploits of former South Plainfield standouts on the college level in recent years. With the likes of Marquis Jones (Rhode Island), Darren Smith (University of Pennsylvania), and Shamai Santiago (Middlesex County College) doing well, there has been a bit to talk about when it comes to South Plainfield hoops. Add the name of Mike Burton to that group. Burton, a 2009 graduate of SPHS, enjoyed a great deal of success during his freshman campaign at Kean University.
The Cougars, which also had the NJAC’s Player of the Year in Linden’s Jonathan Jones and Coach of the Year in Rob Kurzinsky, went 18-8 overall, and 10-3 in conference play. The NJAC South Division Champions reached the semifinals of the conference tournament before losing to New Jersey City University (75-61). Jones, who averaged a solid double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds in the final 51 games of his career, was injured just moments into the NJAC semifinal game against NJCU. Burton, a 1,000 point scorer at South Plainfield, was a major contributor to Kean’s success on the hardwood this past season.
As a result, Burton was named to the DIII News All Freshman Team as well as honored as the NJAC’s Rookie of the Year. Burton was second on the Cougars in scoring with a 10.5 points per game average, and first in both three point field goals made (38) and free throw percentage (47 of 56 for 83.9 percent). He was the top ranked freshman in the NJAC when it came to scoring. This past season, Burton played in 26 games including 20 starts, and averaged 25.2 minutes, 10.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
Burton connected on 94 of 241 shots for 39 percent including 38 of 103 for 37 percent from three point range. Other GMC players on the squad at Kean are Monroe’s Kenny Pace and Carteret’s Xavier Fuller. Pace, who guided Monroe to two straight berths in the GMCT Final Four including the school’s first ever appearance in the GMCT Championship, played in all 26 games for the Cougars. He averaged 9.6 minutes, 2.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game. Pace made 26 shots from the floor including 13 three pointers, and was 6 of 10 from the foul line.
Fuller, a key cog in Carteret’s run through the North Jersey Section 2 Group III State Tournament in 2010, played in 11 games, and averaged 1.9 minutes, 0.8 points, and 0.5 rebounds per game this past season. The Kean Cougars doubled their win total from the year before, and had the most wins since the 1994-95 season.