Trey Burke met with the media this afternoon to discuss his decision to stay at Michigan for his sophomore season. Here’s video of Burke with a brief intro from coach John Beilein, followed by notes and quotes after the jump.
- Opening statement: “As you all know, I’ve decided to stay for my sophomore year here at the University of Michigan. After talking it over with my family, my coaches, with some of the players, I felt like it was the best decision for me to stay my sophomore year and compete for a national championship.”
- On the biggest factor in his decision: “Talking it over with my family, praying over it, I just felt like I could develop more. I felt like coming back to this team next year, we have a great shot to compete for another Big Ten Championship, competing for a national championship, which was our goal last year. Losing our first round game to Ohio was one of the most disappointing times of the year for us and I just feel like we have some unfinished business to do. With the recruits coming in and the returning players, I feel like we have a great chance at a national championship.”
- On if he heavily considered leaving: “There was a point where I was considering leaving. I was never two feet all the way in. Sometimes I was more toward leaving, sometimes I was more coming (toward) back.”
- On the logistics of the decision: “It was more for the team, really. I obviously was doing it for me personally, but I just saw how bright the future was for this team.”
- On when he made his final decision: “I think last Wednesday. I was on my way back home and I was talking it over with my family, with my mom and dad. I just decided that it was best for me to come back. They laid out the pros and cons. I felt like it was in my best interest and in the team’s best interest for me to come back.”
- On the difficulty of the process: “It was definitely stressful at times. When it got to that type of point, I just relaxed and decided just to look at it as a positive. I know a lot of players would love to be in the position to conquer your goals of playing in the NBA like I have this past year. It felt more like my recruiting process. It was a really tough decision.”
- On the chemistry of this team: “We already have chemistry. We all get along, we all are real cool with each other, we can play together on the court, so it’s really just building chemistry with the incoming freshmen.”
- On the advice given by Jared Sullinger and his father: “They were going to support me either way I went. For Coach Sullinger, he was honest with me in telling me that he thinks I should stay another year and come back to school so I can develop more. Jared said the same thing.”
- On dealing with comments on Twitter and Facebook: “It wasn’t really something I was looking into. I try to stay away from the social media stuff, try to stay away from the comments from the outside. I knew it’d be my decision at the end of the day.”
- On whether or not Burke talked with Darius Morris: “I reached out to him, I just asked him how did he feel about last year when he was leaving and things like that. He gave me some good feedback and told me to do just what I felt was best. Whatever I did, don’t do it with any regrets.”
- On improving his draft stock for next year: “That would be a good opportunity. That’s not really a goal of mine, but if it’s there, I’ll definitely have to look into the opportunity. Like Coach Beilein did this year, he’ll help me out in that process. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but that’ll definitely be something I will look into if the opportunity is there.”