The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543845
60 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2026 BY ANTHONY BROOME F or Trey Burke, returning to Michigan always brings back a flood of memo- ries, and the Jan. 23 ceremony honoring his No. 3 was the culmination of that. The night his number was raised to the Crisler Center rafters was not just a reflection of his career, but of the people and moments that helped shape him along the way. Burke and his former head coach, John Beilein, reflected on his time at U-M in the Crisler Center media room before the contest against Ohio State. The famed guard shared his gratitude for a school that helped turn him from a talented but raw freshman to a program legend. "I have to thank Coach Beilein, Coach Satch Sullinger. Strong, strong men with a strong, strong foundation," Burke said of his college and high school coaches. "I had great leadership around me. And when I came here as a freshman, [Beilein] held me accountable. It wasn't always just roses off the court. "I tripped a lot my freshman year. He was threatening to send me home. My mom came up [to Ann Arbor], and I saw her crying at a meeting, and I snapped out of it. I put too much work in to be at such a prestigious university to blow this opportunity." Beilein saw a player who needed to ma- ture and take his craft seriously, and that was the topic of the now-infamous meet- ing with Burke and his mother. "Those are real talks," Beilein said. "We said, as many freshmen do when they first get to college, that it's a lot of freedom. And he'll admit to you that he took ad- vantage of that freedom, and we had to talk. You're either going back to Colum- bus, or you're not going to [the Maui In- vitational]. I'll tell you that if things don't change right now. "It was just the normal little things. 'Do I really have to go to that meeting? Do I have to go to that class?' Once that all started to come together and he could see his results, then it was just fun to watch." That moment became the turning point Burke needed early in his career while he adjusted to college basketball. He knew he needed to work hard to earn back the trust of his head coach. "A lot of guys don't bounce back," Burke said. "A lot of guys, that first impression is everything, especially with a guy like him. It's hard to get that first impression off. ❱ WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Burke (center) felt the love from the members of the 2025-26 Michigan men's basketball team as well as all the fans who came to watch his jersey be raised to the rafters at Crisler Center Jan. 23. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL ❱ Burke "I want them to think about the mindset that I carried every day on that court. I want them to think about me as a winner. And someone who really helped change and turn this program back around to relevance." A HERO'S WELCOME Trey Burke Returns And Reflects Upon U-M Honoring Famed No. 3