Scott Burrell

Scott David Burrell (born January 12, 1971) is an American retired professional basketball player and current Head coach for Southern Connecticut State University.^[1] He has played internationally and was also a professional baseball player. Burrell was also the first American athlete to be a first round draft-pick of two major sporting organizations (the NBA and MLB).

Early life

Burrell was born in New Haven, Connecticut. A 6'7" multi-sport star at Hamden High School in Connecticut, Burrell was drafted by baseball's Seattle Mariners during his senior year. The Mariners wanted to develop Burrell as a pitcher and suggested that he bypass college for the minor leagues. However, Burrell wanted to attend college and made plans to play baseball at the University of Miami (FL) before University of Connecticut assistant basketball coach Howie Dickenman convinced Burrell to play basketball for the Huskies.

College career

After his freshman year at University of Connecticut, Burrell was drafted by another baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays, and Burrell decided to spend his summers playing minor league baseball while concentrating on basketball for the rest of the year. Burrell's basketball career would quickly overshadow his baseball career, however, as he became the first player in NCAA history to compile over 1,500 points, 750 rebounds, 275 assists and 300 steals. Scott is known for his full court pass with 1 second on the clock to Tate George, who hit a shot as time expired to beat Clemson in the East Regional Semi-final in the 1990 NCAA tournament.

Professional career

Burrell was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 20th pick of the 1993 NBA Draft. He averaged 4.8 points per game during his rookie season, but he blossomed during his sophomore year, averaging 11.5 points and finishing third in voting for the NBA Most Improved Player Award. That year, he also finished third at the AT&T Long-Distance Shootout. During the 1995-96 NBA season, however, injuries limited Burrell to 20 games, and he would be reduced to a supporting role during the rest of his career. He split the 1996-97 season between the Hornets and the Golden State Warriors, averaging only 5.9 points per game, before being traded by the Warriors to the Chicago Bulls for Dickey Simpkins in the fall of 1997. However, Burrell was able to win his first and only NBA Championship ring during his season with the Bulls, and he would play three more seasons after that (with the New Jersey Nets and Charlotte Hornets) before taking his career overseas. Burrell's international stops have included China, the Philippines, and Japan.

Personal

Burrell is currently the head men's basketball coach at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. He was hired on July 13, 2015.^[2] He had previously coach at Quinnipiac University in his hometown of Hamden, Connecticut, where he coached under former UConn assistant coach Tom Moore. Burrell went back to school and received his bachelor's degree in General Studies from the University of Connecticut on May 8, 2010.^[3] He was honored with Scott Burrell Day in Hamden on May 26, 2014. ^[4]

References

External links

• Player Profile @ NBA.com
• College & NBA Stats @ basketball-reference.com
• The Baseball Cube @ thebaseballcube.com
• Scott Burrell at quinnipiacbobcats.com