Trey Burke: 'It would mean the world' to have jersey hanging in Crisler Center rafters
Once upon a time, Trey Burke was committed to Penn State, but reopened his recruitment heading into the summer of 2010 and eventually chose to play for head coach John Beilein and Michigan Wolverines basketball.
Oh, how things could’ve been different for not only Burke — the “pride of Columbus, Ohio,” as he was introduced before home games — but Michigan. The Wolverines welcomed back the 2013 team that made the program’s first run to the national title game since 1993, before falling by 6 points to Louisville in the season’s final game, at halftime of Saturday night’s tilt against MSU.
Everyone wearing Maize and Blue at Crisler Center Saturday night is glad he chose the Wolverines, and that Beilein pursued him. He’s a Michigan legend, multiple generations of fans’ favorite player and one of two from the program to win national player of the year honors, joining Cazzie Russell in 1966.
Only one thing is missing: Burke’s jersey hanging in the Crisler Center rafters.
Michigan has five jerseys up there, one “retired” and four others “honored.” Russell’s No. 33 can’t be worn by Michigan players, and his banner is joined by No. 22 Bill Buntin, No. 35 Phil Hubbard, No. 41 Glen Rice and No. 45 Rudy Tomjanovich.
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The program hasn’t honored a jersey since 2006, when Buntin’s went up with the rest.
It’s hard to argue that Burke — who led Michigan to the 2013 national championship game — shouldn’t join that rarified air. If it’s only a matter of time, then getting it done soon feels right.
“That would mean the world,” Burke said, speaking with media before Michigan’s game against MSU. “It would mean the world, honestly.
“That’s something you dream about as a kid. Growing up, I loved college basketball, I watched college basketball. I was one of those kids that was running around with a little rubber basketball, dreaming of making big shots. Just to have something to leave your legacy on something like that at such a great university like Michigan, that would be great for me. I would love that.”
His teammates agree. Nik Stauskas and Tim Hardaway Jr. stumped for Burke, as well, with the former bringing up the point that his point guard’s impact was one of the greatest the program has seen.
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Burke hit clutch shots, made winning plays and led Michigan to places it hadn’t been in decades, winning the Big Ten title in 2012 (first time since 1986) and making the NCAA championship game in 2013 (first since 1993). Michigan was on the rise before Burke’s arrival in 2011, but he took it to another level, putting it back on the national map and making it the modern-day powerhouse it is today.
“It would be an honor,” Hardaway said of seeing Burke recognized in that fashion. “He worked his tail off to get to that point, to help us get to where we needed to go in both of his years of being here. I know I’ll be the first one through that door when his name is called, hopefully.”
“I would just say, you could probably count, maybe not even on one hand, the amount of players that have come through this school that have had the impact that Trey had,” Stauskas added. “Especially for me, my freshman year … we just came from somewhere where it was me, Spike [Albrecht], Zack Novak, Stu Douglass. We were talking. I looked at Spike and said, ‘Is Trey the best player you ever played with?’ And he just laughed right away. It’s not even close.
“My freshman year when we came in, it was eye opening and humbling to see how special of a player Trey was. We used to call him ‘Young A.I.’ [Allen Iverson] all the time. You guys would see it, the kind of tough shots he was hitting, the way he handled the ball, the way he carried himself, it was very much in that manner.
“To see his jersey go up in the rafters one day, that would be very well deserved, and I would definitely love to be there to celebrate that too.”
