Jordan Burks shares his goal for freshman season

Jordan Burks isn’t the highest rated or flashiest of Kentucky’s freshman recruits. The small forward ranked No. 173 nationally in the 2023 signing class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, but is ready to do whatever it takes to make an impact for the Wildcats.

Speaking with reporters shortly after arriving to Lexington, Burks shared his outlook for his freshman season. He knows he’s not going to be looked to for big-time scoring or the like, which is just fine with Burks as he’ll do whatever head coach John Calipari asks of him to help Kentucky win.

“Honestly, rebounding, blocking shots. Being vocal. Being a leader. Because vocal — I just want to win. Great defense. It’s not even about scoring, it’s just about all of us getting creative to get somebody else open for them to score,” Burks said. “Because I’d rather make somebody else — I’d rather make two people happy than one person happy. That’s what Coach Cal said. He got that from, I think, Jokic, like ‘If I can score, I’m just going to make myself happy. But if I pass it and he scores, we’re going to make two people happy,'” Burks said.

On a freshman-laden team, Burks should get plenty of run, even if he’s not the highest-rated prospect coming in. Kentucky has five freshman enrollees who are Top 50 prospects, including three in the Top 10.

Burks will mainly be battling with No. 2 overall recruit Justin Edwards for minutes at small forward and West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell at power forward. But beyond those two, there’s not a ton of obvious competition for minutes at the three and four for Kentucky.

And Burks would just as gladly play point guard or center if that’s what he’s told to do.

“So however Cal wants to use me to help win, I’m with it. Whatever I gotta do. If I gotta play the five to be on the court, I’m going to play the five. If you want me to play the one, I’m going to play the one,” Burks said with a chuckle. “Don’t matter.” 

Burks is high on Kentucky winning some exhibition games in Toronto this July

The Kentucky men’s basketball team travels to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to participate in the 2023 GLOBL JAM, which takes place next week at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Burks, who previously committed to Ole Miss, discussed the upcoming trip and shared his expectations the only way he knows how.

“My expectation is to win all of the games,” Burks told reporters. “We have to work together and win. Winning is key. If we win, we all get to eat. … I want to win the national championship. I want to win games [with this group], I want to see everyone happy. It’s a team sport, it’s not just yourself.”