Come To Penn SHTAAAAATE - Point Guard Trey Burke

Give me a point guard and a SIREN WHOOOOOO!!!

Ok, so how many of you saw the siren and ran out the door screaming "WHOOO WE JUST GOT SHARIFF FLOYD!!!"

No, actually this is a hoops siren, as Ed DeChellis just nailed down his first verbal commitment for the class of 2011 in Columbus, OH point guard Trey Burke. That's right, I said class of 2011. Mr. Burke hasn't even played his junior year of high school basketball yet.

Rivals rates Burke as a three star prospect and a Top 150 player. Scout rates him as a two star player. ESPN grades him an 88 and says some things.

August, 2009: Trey is a point guard who can break you down off the dribble with ease to score or create for teammates off his penetration. He is at his best shooting the basketball when he can use a high ball screen and shoot behind the screen. He has good vision and sees the floor well when he pushes the ball in transition. He uses a couple of dribbles to get his rhythm to attack the basket and get his shot ready to go. On defense, he has very quick hands and does an excellent job of defending the basketball using good angles and sliding his feet well to keep his man in front of him. He contests shots and blocks out on each possession.

He sounds like a Talor Battle clone. This is a good thing because 2011 will be the first season of the post-Battle era. What's up with recruiting all these kids so early in their high school career anyway? Ed shined some light on this during preseason media day.

Q: When you were hired you were talking about getting the program off the ground and back to the basics. A few years later are you there yet? Is there still more to go?

A: Well, I don't think as a coach you are ever satisfied. We want to make the NCAA Tournament and win the Big Ten Championships. We're so much further along then we were two years ago just because recruiting has been very good for us. We're now at the point where we're recruiting sophomores and juniors in high school on a consistent basis. We're done with the senior class, having had those kids visit campus. Now we can focus on the younger kids. I think, from that standpoint, we're way ahead.

It sounds kind of creepy, but that's the way the game is played today. The big programs are grabbing up these kids sometimes in the eighth grade. It used to be all Ed could hope for was to find a diamond in the rough, or a kid that suffered a knee injury his junior year and got looked over by the bigger schools. The NIT championship and all the exposure last year has opened doors to talk to some kids he never would have had a chance with before.

I must admit when I first got news of Burke's commitment I was like, "Really? Another 5'11" point guard? Don't we already have a half dozen of those?" But then I realized this is the class of 2011 we're talking about. We should have five scholarships available in that class as Battle, Brooks, Jones, Jackson, and Ott will all have graduated by then. Taran Buie will be a sophomore and Tim Frazier will be a junior. That's two guys who haven't even seen a tip in a Penn State uniform yet, so we're talking way down the road. In that sense, this is a great pickup by Ed. I'm just not used to this whole basketball recruiting cycle yet.

Here's what you've won.

Hidden Gems Showcase - Trey Burke Class of 2011 Highlights (via cityleaguehoops)

So a good start to 2011 recruiting. I can't wait to see Mr. Burke in a Penn State uniform...two years from now. Now please, Ed, go out and get some guys bigger than 6'2".