Report Card 2013: Trey Burke

Trey Burke was the best college basketball player in the country this season. Pretty much everyone agreed. The grade that he’s concerned about – where he lands in the NBA Draft – will come Thursday night but the 6-foot Columbus native cemented his legacy as one of the best players to ever play for Michigan.

Burke’s talent was obvious as a freshman but his sophomore season seemed to be a continuous Trey Burke highlight reel. Burke was remarkably consistent through the non-conference slate, the Big Ten season and the NCAA tournament while leading Michigan to the national championship game.

It’s impossible to talk about Burke’s season without sounding hyperbolic, but in his case it’s all justified. Burke was Michigan’s coach on the floor all season long, running John Beilein’s pick-and-roll action about as well as it can be run. Burke was superb at controlling everything that occurred on the offensive side of the floor and had a knack for making his decisions at just the right time — whether it was pulling up for a shot, driving to the basket, dumping the ball to one of Michigan’s bigs underneath or kicking to an open shooter.

There was exactly one time — Michigan’s first Big Ten road game of the season against Ohio State — that I can remember Burke even remotely flustered. He was the emotional core of his team and exemplified what it means to be a leader as a point guard. As this past season progressed, it became increasingly evident that Michigan would go as far as Burke would take them. He took them all the way to the final Monday, finishing out his Michigan career leading his team to the best Michigan basketball season in over two decades.