"He's like a sponge." Jordan Burks learning new role while playing out of position

Jordan Burks was used to having the ball in his hands at all times. During his senior high school season, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged over 27 points per game with Hillcrest Prep at Overtime Elite. He was the go-to scorer and had to be in order for the team to stay competitive. But several months into his freshman season at the University of Kentucky, his role has been flipped completely.

Once a wing who was always looking to score, Burks is now being forced to play out of position with the Wildcats out of necessity. Kentucky is still down all three of its seven-footers and could be for at least the foreseeable future. He’s low on the list of preferred shot-takers. Burks has slid down to power forward and sometimes even all the way to center.

Considering the role he’s been thrown into, his stats were still solid through Kentucky’s two exhibition games. Burks finished with four points, six rebounds (three offensive), and two steals in 20 minutes against Georgetown College then six points, three rebounds, and two more steals in 15 minutes against Kentucky State. Nothing too crazy, but enough to inspire confidence that he can hold his own in the frontcourt. He’s certainly long and athletic enough to do so, although he could be prone to getting pushed around in certain situations.

It’s definitely been an adjustment for Burks, but one that — to his credit — he’s fully embraced so far, even if it isn’t what he expected when he first arrived in Lexington. During interviews over the last few weeks, Burks is almost always asked about his new role and how he’s attacking it. Every single time, he responds by saying something along the lines of he’ll do whatever it takes to help the team win.

That doesn’t mean it’s been an easy transition though. It almost certainly hasn’t been, and no one would expect it to be. Luckily, he’s got a calm veteran presence in his ear to help keep him on the right path.

“Jordan Burks is a guy that — I talk to him all day long. Practice, game. I’m in constant interaction with him because he’s new to it. They’re all new to it, but Jordan is out of position,” Fifth-year forward Tre Mitchell said on Thursday. “You can tell sometimes he gets a little frustrated with what’s going on and that’s when I have to step in and be like ‘We just need you here right now.’ Flat out. That’s what we need. This is how you read this, this is how you play this. Do that and everything is gonna come back full circle as soon as we get — hopefully — one of our seven-footers back and we’re ready to go. You’re gonna bump up to the three, the four, and you’re gonna rock and be in a more comfortable position.”

Some freshmen might scoff at or ignore that kind of advice from a veteran. Not Burks though. When Mitchell — or anyone else on the team or coaching staff — speaks, Burks listens and soaks it all in.

“On top of that, he’s like a sponge. He’s really like a sponge,” Mitchell added. “He takes all the information in and he applies it immediately.”

By all accounts, it appears that all of Kentucky’s top freshmen approach the game with this sort of mindset. But again, Burks is playing in a brand new role. The likes of DJ Wagner, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards, Reed Sheppard, etc. are filling into the same positions they played in high school, just with fewer touches than they’re used to. That’s still undoubtedly a challenge for them, but Burks is losing those touches and playing out of position.

When there are veterans like Mitchell and fellow fifth-year Antonio Reeves on the team, they can settle down the youngsters as the voice of reason, even in ways that the coaches can’t. They might not always like to hear it, but they always take it.

“I pick and choose my moments, because nobody likes being bossed around,” Mitchell said. “But moments where I see that I can help them, I intervene whether they want to hear from me or not. If I have something that I know is gonna help them immediately I’m gonna let them know.”

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