The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/122487
ketball, especially as he developed more and more toward the end of his high school career. But Beilein got on him early, and played a trump card that made a difference in Robinson's mind. "It's been a crazy experience," Robinson said of playing with Burke. "I never would have thought I'd be playing with the type of point guard that Trey Burke is. He really understands the game, has a high IQ, and he knows when to shoot it and when to pass it. "I've seen him make the right play so many times. Being recruited, before I committed to Michigan, I can remember Coach Beilein telling me that they were getting Trey Burke, and he's the type of point guard that is not selfish. He's all about the team winning. "I thought about that. Actually playing with him, I can see those types of things that Trey does well, how he's impacted this team so much." Beilein admitted he bristled a bit when observers noted Burke's "off" game against Syracuse in the national semifinal. No, Burke didn't light up the scoreboard (seven points), Beilein acknowledged, but he did dish out four assists, make three steals, grab five rebounds, block a shot and do much that the numbers simply cannot communicate. "It's more than just that box score, how many points," Beilein stressed. "How many good screens did he set? How many times did he pass right to a shooter when we needed it? Stop looking at the final box score and how many points. If you understand all the nuances of the game, it's a huge difference of whether we win or lose, some of the intangibles that happen in a game that you never see in a stat." And sometimes, it is the points. Like when the Wolverines trailed Kansas by a seemingly impossible margin late, and Burke brought them back, bombing home the shot of the season — a 30-foot three-pointer with four seconds remaining to send that South Regional showdown to overtime. If he misses there, Michigan's magical March run ends at the Sweet 16. But he didn't miss. "It's just the intensity that he brings to games," freshman guard Nik Stauskas said. "He's such a winner. He hates to lose. That game against Kansas just showed what he was all about. We were down 11 with three minutes left, and he told us there was no way we were losing that game. He carried us to that win." Burke almost carried the Wolverines one final time. His 24 points (on 7-of-11 shooting) and three assists in the national championship contest very nearly hoisted Michigan to the mountaintop. "It hurts a lot," Burke said, regarding the title game shortfall. "It hurts so much. A lot of people didn't expect us to even get this far." A lot of people never expected Burke, overlooked by many big schools in the recruiting process, to get this far. He wound up carving an unforgettable niche for himself in Michigan basketball history. ❏