Alec Burks, SG

Since being a lightly regarded high school prospect, Burks has continued to prove his doubters wrong.

He came out of the woodwork to capture Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year honors as a senior at Grandview High School, but by the time college recruiters noticed his talents, the shooting guard had already signed with Colorado.

Professional scouts have a tendency to be skeptical of players who slipped through the high school recruiting cracks.

Most talent evaluators agree that Burks is the best shooting guard in the 2011 NBA Draft and predict that he will be taken during the draft lottery. One of his best traits is that he excels getting to the basket. He also showed that as an unselfish player, he could fill in at the point for stretches in the NBA.

Burks almost doubled his assist total as a sophomore (from 53 to 112), and despite what looks like a frail, lanky frame, he also dispelled concerns that he would get manhandled by bigger NBA defenders when trying to drive to the basket. More than 30 percent of his scoring came while filling the lane in transition, creating an angle, and initiating contact.

The sophomore played just two seasons at Colorado, but he closed out his career ranked third in school history with a scoring average of 18.985 points per game. Fearless in his charge to the rim, resulted in 495 chances from the foul line in 68 games as a Buffalo. He converted 80.4 percent of his attempts, ranking seventh in school annals with that high percentage of success.

During 68 games, Burks scored at least 18 points 41 times. He produced 397 rebounds at Colorado (5.84 rebounds per game) and that saw him generate seven double/double performances. Those that felt he might be too fragile to become a face-up defender had those concerns appeased, especially after he registered 76 steals and blocked 24 shots as a collegian.

Knowing that he would attend Colorado, signing with the university prior to his senior campaign, Burks put on one of the best performances ever by Grandview High School performer. He averaged 23.0 points per game, in addition to 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.6 steals in 2008-09. He was also named the Kansas City Star and Metro Sports Player of the Year.

Burks continued that stellar performance during his first season at Colorado, as he was named the Big Twelve Conference's Freshman of the Year, in addition to earning Fresh-man All-American honors. He scored in double digits every game his freshman campaign, except for one, where he suffered a knee sprain vs. Iowa State in the opening minutes.

Burks became the first Colorado freshman to surpass 500 points in a single-season (512) and only the second CU freshman to lead his team in rebounding (5.0) since Matt Bullard (6.4 rebounds per game; 1985-86). He was second in team scoring (17.1 points per game) and field goals made (172); first in rebounding (5.0 rebounds per game.) and field goal percentage (.538); fourth in assists (53) and tied for second in steals (35).

For an encore, Burks continued his assault on the school record books as a sophomore. The All-American and All-Big Twelve Conference choice was the first Buffalo to earned Big Twelve All-Tournament honors. He ranked 18th in the nation in scoring, averaging 20.5 points per game, as his 779 total points set a CU single-season record. He also broke the school mark with 249 free throws made.

He also averaged an impressive 6.5 rebounds per game and was named a finalist for the Wooden Award. That award is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade point average.

Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Blake Griffin ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09). Ohio State's Evan Turner and Connecticut's Tina Charles won the Award in 2010.

On April 21, Burks held a press conference at the university to announce that he would be leaving Colorado and entering the 2011 NBA Draft, leaving the Buffs and a burgeoning number of followers to watch his progress from afar as he launches a professional career. "I'm glad . . . I'm glad everybody can get off my back now," Burks said of his decision. "It's been a long time coming. It's a great day; my mom, my brother are both happy. When you see somebody realize their dream, it's always a great day."

The run-up to the dream had been harrowing. Burks had deliberated on the decision since the end of the 2010-11 season in which he helped lead CU to a school-record 24 wins and to the NIT semifinals in New York. Only the third CU underclassman to declare himself eligible for the NBA Draft (the first was sophomore Chauncey Billups in 1997, the second was junior David Harrison in 2003), Burks had said his decision was based on how high he was projected to be selected in the June 23rd draft.

"I was coming back," Burks said before weighing input from the potential representatives, his mother, his former AAU coach, CU Coach Tad Boyle and Billups. Boyle said with "an unbelievable amount of distractions" bombarding Burks, the slender sophomore had "handled it as well as any young man could have handled what he's gone through this year."

But in the end, the prospect of being paid to play hoops and being able to assist his family spoke loudly to Burks - and in good conscience, Boyle couldn't offer a rebuttal. "I ask our players to be unselfish (and) as the head coach at Colorado, this guy makes me a better coach. We're better with (Burks) at Colorado than we are with him going to the NBA. There's no question about that," Boyle said.

Positives: Capable of filling it up, but is one of the more unselfish two guards in the draft … Creative taking shots and can find the basket in transition, on isolation plays or attacking the rim on the pick-and-roll … Draws contact and makes the opponent pay for foolish fouls, converting 80.4 percent of his chances … Keeps defenders on their toes -- is not only explosive, but has the lateral agility and stop-and-go action to get his man off-balance or force the defender to elevate too early on his soft floaters … Has the ability to slash vs. speedy opponents with a good handle on the ball … Can weave through traffic with the ball and has very good athleticism for a bigger guard … Has the timing and explosive burst to go with a quick and high release; his shots are rarely contested … Crowd pleaser with the way he glides through the air and while he's no Nate Robinson he can deliver an emphatic dunk to get his point across to a defender … Smooth and fluid running the court and demonstrates crisp passing skills and vision to feed others when used at the point … Became a valid half-court option last year, showing good vision and creativity finishing his shots or executing an extra pass to a better scoring option … Fearless battling with forwards for the rebound and while he does not have the power to establish position under the basket, he will get his fair share of rebounds through angling and slipping under his opponent … Uses long arms well to jump passing lanes and also has above-average lateral agility to consistently stay in the face of a shooter or slasher … Has to work on improving his shooting arc, but will compensate by getting the ball off in an instant … His length and standing reach (8-foot-5) makes him a highly effective rebounder, especially when utilized on the wing, but he still has to add more core strength … Can consistently get the defender off balance with his ability to stop, change gears and re-direct, using highly effective pump fakes and hesitation moves to force the opponent to over-commit … Smooth and effortless release and is an offensive-minded talent who just needs to work on developing a better mid-range jumper, as he will struggle when taking shots from the perimeter … Has an explosive first step and is quick turning the corner on screens, using his leaping ability to sail over smaller guards to put the ball in the basket … Times his leaps well on alley-oop passes and while he needs to improve the lift on his jump shot, he has good quickness in his release.

Negatives: His body is still developing and despite his impressive growth spurt, overall strength is lacking … Has the shooting touch and ability to take the ball to the basket, but until he gets stronger, he will have to rely on his jumper at the NBA level and he seems to lack a decent outside shot and will put up some clunkers from the perimeter … Can get into a black-hole mentality and can't expect to get as many touches at the next level (has to do a better job of locating openings in the NBA until he can improve his strength and needs to do a better job of finding better chances to score rather than simply firing away) … Looks a bit uncomfortable without the ball in his hands (stands around too much rather than attacking the opposing shooter) and has to work on setting up his man better when coming off screens … Lacks great shooting range, which might limit minutes at the two-guard spot … Is better as a shooter when coming off the dribble, but has to expand his game more, and is a work in progress in terms of spot-up shooting … Once he adds needed strength, he can perhaps improve his adequate ability to finish around the basket (shot just 46.9 percent as a sophomore), as he does not have the power to prevent bigger defenders from delivering punishing contact through traffic … Becomes too conscious of a charging defender when working off screens and will back away or simply take too many off-balanced shots to compensate for his inability to gain separation … Inconsistent executing his mid-range jumper and seems to lack confidence in his 3-point range (made just 29.35 percent of his jumpers in 2010-11, which is further reduced when he tries to attempt his shot coming off the dribble).

Compares To: JIM JACKSON, ex-NBA -- Some scouts compare him to Evan Turner. He is not the greatest outside shooter and lacks great core strength to drive on NBA types consistently, but talent evaluators have been proven wrong in the past when doubting his ability. Like Jackson, he is explosive getting to the rim and there are very few guards in this draft with the rebounding ability that Burks brings to the game. Bet on this Missouri native to be a lottery pick in 2011.

All-American and All-Big Twelve Conference first-team selection by The NBA Draft Report … Was named the best shooting guard prospect in the nation by that scouting information service … Named a finalist for the Wooden Award, which is regarded as the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball … Named to the NIT All-Tournament Team (scored 97 points in four games, 24.3 points per game.) … Added Associated Press All-American honorable mention … Was the University of Colorado Chauncey Billups/MVP Award winner and also earned the team's Jay Humphries/Assist Award … One of 20 players chosen to the Lute Olson All-American Team … Became the first CU player to be named to the Big Twelve Basketball Championships All-Tournament team … Added USBWA All-District VIII, NABC District VIII and Basketball Times All-District Southwest honors … Started 37-of-38 games, ranking 18th in the nation in scoring with a 20.5-point average … Scored a school season-record 779 points, as he also set CU annual marks by connecting on 251-of-535 field goals (46.9 percent) and 249-of-302 free throws (82.5 percent) … Also successful on 28-of-96 treys (29.2 percent), as he pulled down 247 rebounds (6.5 rebounds per game), handed out 112 assists (2.9 apg), blocked 12 shots and had 41 steals (1.08 spg) … Became the first Buff in school history to score over 770 points, 240 rebounds, 100 assists in same season … Also became the first CU player to average 20 or more points in a season (20.5 points per game) since 1993-94 (Donnie Boyce, 22.4, 1993-94) … Helped the Buffaloes to a school record most wins in a season (24) and most home wins in a season (18), as he also helped Colorado set four attendance marks: most sellouts a season (5); all games (140,284); conference total (78,472); conference average (9,809 … Led CU in scoring 26 times; in rebounding 13 times (5 shared); in assists 18 times (7 shared); in steals 14 times (8 shared) and in blocks 13 times (8 shared) … Recorded 24 games with 20+ or more points, as he also had a pair of 30+ point games and five double-double performances.

Freshman All-American first-team choice by The NBA Draft Report and Basketball Times, adding second-team honors from The Sporting News … Named the Big Twelve Conference Freshman of the Year … At the CUSPY Awards (Colorado Sports Performers of the Year), he was chosen the Male Freshman Athlete of the Year … Missed one game vs. Kansas after he suffered a left knee sprain early in the Iowa State, but still went on to become the first Colorado freshman to surpass 500 points in a single-season (512) and only the second CU freshman to lead his team in rebounding (5.0) since Matt Bullard (6.4, 1985-86) … .Finished second in team scoring (17.1 points per game) and field goals made (172); first in rebounding (5.0 rebounds per game) and field goal percentage (.538); fourth in assists (53); and tied for second in steals (35) … Started all 30 games he played in … His 150 rebounds is sixth highest total by a CU fresh-man … Scored in double-figures in 29 games … Led the team in scoring in 12 games (three shared); in rebounds in 14 games (four shared); in assists four times (twice shared) and led CU in steals six times (three shared) while leading the Buffaloes in blocks seven times (four shared) … .Ranked fourth nationally for all freshmen in points per game (17.1) and field goal percentage (53.8).

Burks started all but one of the 68 games in which he played in for Colorado, scoring 1,291 points, as his average of 18.985 points per game rank third in school history behind Cliff Meely (24.3; 1968-71) and Shaun Vandiver (20.6; 1989-90) … His total of 779 points in 2010-11 broke the previous Colorado season-record of 729 points by Meely during the 1970-71 campaign … Connected on 423-of-855 field goals (49.5 percent) … His 259 successful field goals as a sophomore rank fifth in school season annals … Made 47-of-150 three-point attempts (31.3 percent) … Connected on 398-of-495 free throws (80.4 percent), ranking sixth on the university's all-time record chart … His 249 free throws made in 2010-11 broke the previous school season-record of 194 by Ken Charlton (1962-63) … As a sophomore, Burks became the first player in school history with at least 500 points (779), 200 rebounds (247), 100 assists (112) in a season … Also set CU records for most free throws made in a half (2nd) (11 vs. Iowa State, March 9, 2011) and most games played in a season (38) … In the school's 15-year history in the Big Twelve Conference, he established team bests for most points scored in a game (36 vs. Missouri, Jan. 8, 2011 and most free throws made (12) and attempted (20) in a game (vs. Texas, Feb. 26, 2011) … His 397 rebounds rank sixth in school history from guards who performed at the university … During his career, Burks led the team in scoring 38 times (4 shared); rebounding 27 times (9 shared); assists 22 times (9 shared) steals 20 times (11 shared) blocks 20 times (12 shared).

Attended Grandview (Mo.) High School, where Burks was named the 2009 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Missouri … As a senior, he averaged 23.0 points per game, in addition to 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 steals per game … Also named Kansas City Star and Metro Sports Player of the Year in 2009, as he helped lead the Bulldogs to a 29-2 record … First-team All-Suburban Mix Six League honors as a junior after averaging 19.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game … Rivals.com listed Burks the 31st-best point guard in the Class of 2009 … Became the leader in points scored in school history … Participated on the Mo-Kan All-Star game.

Open Option major in Colorado's College of Arts and Sciences … Son of Dina and Steve Burks … Born 7/20/91 in Grandview, Missouri.