The following is a press release from the University of Notre Dame.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Year two is officially loading for Notre Dame guard Markus Burton. The reigning ACC Rookie of the Year withdrew his name from the NBA Draft and announced his return to the Fighting Irish. Last season, Burton proved to be one of the most promising young talents in the ACC, and one of the most prolific scoring freshman guards in the country.
Burton became the program’s first ACC Rookie of the Year and third ever to win the award of any conference. The pride of South Bend averaged 17.5 points per game which ranked third nationally amongst all Division-I freshman. Not only that, Burton dropped 577 points on the year, which broke the program freshman scoring record by 58 points.
In ACC play, Burton put his name next to the conference’s best. He ranked sixth in scoring (17.5 ppg), first in steals (2.2) and third in assists (4.8).
Thus, Burton did more than just score. His 95 assists in ACC play ranked as the fourth most by an ND player. His 63 steals tied Jerian Grant for third-most in a single season.
All-in-all, he was 1-of-2 power-five players in the country last year to average at least 17 points, 4 assists and 1.9 steals (the other being Syracuse’s Judah Mintz). In addition, Burton produced two games with 15+ points, 5+ assists and 5+ steals. Since 1996, only one other Irish player (Chris Thomas) had produced two games in the game regular season with at least 15-5-5.
Burton and the rest of the Fighting Irish report for Summer training session on June 10.
