6-6 SG Mike Burwell from New Jersey commits to the Bulls

[Vega]

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/02/new-jersey-guar.html

Next weekend, the Bulls will get an official visit from Mike Burwell, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound shooting guard from New Jersey who is playing this season at South Kent Prep in Connecticut.

Burwell is a bit under the radar from the major recruiting sites, but he averaged 27 points per game last season at Cardinal McCarrick High School in South Amboy, N.J.

McCarrick coach Joe Lewis said Burwell is "very interested" in USF, with Michigan and San Diego as the schools that recruited him the most last year, getting official visits.

Jefferson said his top suitors outside of USF are Seton Hall, Stanford, Rutgers and Penn State. Jefferson said Burwell has relatives in Florida, and if the visit goes well, he might not take other visits and commit to the Bulls.

"I would not be surprised at all if that happened," he said.

Impressive video

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[Vega]

Welcome to the family and please bring your outside shooting with you because we need it.

"The atmosphere was great, and I felt right at home," said Burwell, who averaged 27 points per game as a high school senior in South Amboy, N.J., last season. "The coaches were great, the players were great, and it seems like I can make a difference there next season."

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/03/guard-burwell-c.html

[Velcro]

We need every last shooter we can get, especially if we can't beef up inside.

[USF Bulls Football]

Ok, I have heard who we are trying to get, but who do y'all think will sign with USF? I'd like atleast 2 big bodies. Will anybody 'decide' to transfer after the year is up?

[Mama_Bull]

Glad to have him. He looks like he can score from outside.

Mike Burwell | SG  

Hometown  South Amboy, NJ  

High School South Kent School (CT)  

Height 6'6"

Weight 180 lbs.

Last Updated: 3/2/2009 Data provided by Scouts, Inc.

Evaluation

February, 2009: Burwell has very good shooting ability and can shoot the ball from 3-point range with a good amount of consistency. He has problems when he tries to work off the dribble and needs to shoot on the move a lot better for the next level. Burwell could also benefit from adding strength and muscle to his frame, which would probably make him a better shooter off the bounce. Burwell could also become a better player off the dribble if he enhances those ball-handling skills. He has good size for the perimeter and needs to utilize it more by adding the one-two dribble pull-up jumper to his game.

November, 2008: Burwell has good size for the perimeter, but he looks like a player trying to find his comfort zone at this point. He has to understand his strengths, which at this point classify as shooting the ball off the catch-and-shoot and not looking to over-dribble the ball to get shots off the dribble. With his good shooting stroke, Burwell should develop in this area, he just needs to put the time in the gym to improve. Especially given the fact that he does not rank as an explosive athlete, he should rely more on the offense for his offense as opposed to looking to venture outside of structure for points. Burwell will also have to improve his ball-handling skills if he wants to become better off the dribble, which he will have to do for the next level if he wants to rank as just a specialist on the next level. Burwell will benefit from added strength, which will help him off the dribble.

October, 2008: Burwell has a very reliable jumper and very smooth form and proper mechanics, which provides him with the ability to hit consistently from the perimeter. Burwell has range that extends out to the 3-point line and can make a living as a spot-up jump shooter, receiving passes from penetrating guards or getting the ball from kick-outs from post players after the grab an offensive rebound but do not have the space to get a shot off. Burwell successfully drains nearly every jumper that he attempts when he has his feet set. Burwell runs into trouble when he tries to do too much and looks to create his own shot. He needs to improve his ball-handling skills drastically if he wants to become a better scorer off the bounce. Burwell has nice lift on his jumper and of he improves his handle and gets stronger, he should become a enhance his ability to score off the dribble, which only serve to open up his potent perimeter game and make him even tougher for opposing defenders to cover.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=66667&season=2009&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d66667%26season%3d2009

[Vega]

We need every last shooter we can get, especially if we can't beef up inside.

Justin Leemow logging 26 minutes was 0-5 from the field and 0-4 from three-point range. On the season, Leemow is 10-59 (16%) from the field this season

and 8-43 from beyond the arc. I'll be willing to bet that every 9/10 times he shoots he's wide open too.

I do think we will add some post players as we are on some that can really help us. As always we just have to find a way to convince them to play for the USF Bulls. Not an easy sell job but Heath and staff has to find a way to do it.

[NormalBull]

Vega:  I am just curious....what do you think of Burwell's videos?  Do you think he could help out next year?

Normal

[Vega]

Vega:  I am just curious....what do you think of Burwell's videos?  Do you think he could help out next year?

Normal

Well one can't help but like his shooting touch from just about anywhere on the court. I love his length and the problems he can potentially present both offensively and defensively for the opposing teams. The guys knows how to put the ball in the basket and we need that badly.

I think Burwell will be just an outside threat  during his first 2 seasons here but I look for him to become a more all around player his junior and senior seasons.

[Velcro]

So we'll have 4 outside threats next year instead of 2.

That is a big improvement.  (jones, dumars, noriega, burwell, gilchrist)

Also, add in Howard who's shot has obviously gotten significantly better as he is shooting a better % from deep than everyone on the team, including dojo.

[BigGameBulls]

it is remarkable how much improvement Howard has shown this year shooting the ball. It is amazing that he is only a Junior. Seems like he has been at USF for 8 years  .

I hope the talent coming in next year can make an impact on this team. I am looking forward to seeing Noriega in a Bulls uniform!