Canes Hoops Player Profiles: Deandre Burnett

In an effort to keep even the most hardcore Miami fan up to date on their favorite players, SOTU will be running a Player Profile series. In these posts, our writers will profile two players from each position that they think should get more face time. They will recap their previous year, or in some cases, preview what may be to come. That way, when the season get's here, you hopefully will have a new found love for the team on the field.

[Deandre Burnett] - [Freshman] - [Guard] - [6'2'' 191 lbs] - [Miami, Florida]

Coming in to last season, everybody knew that most of the front-court of the Canes was gearing up for their last season. What we didn't know was that sophomore point guard Shane Larkin was going to be a top-5 point guard and declare early to the NBA draft. As soon as Larkin made his decision official, the search for a new starting point guard was underway. The coaching staff went all the way out to Belgium to recruit and land Manu Lecomte, but they also landed a commit from their own backyard.

Burnett played his senior season at Massanutten Military Academy in Virginia, but spent three years at Carol City High School in Miami. It didn't matter if Burnett played ball in Virginia or in Miami, he would still score in bunches. Burnett averaged 37 points per game and that earned him the third highest scoring average in the country during his senior season. To display his scoring ability, Burnett hit the 45 point mark three times that year. During his junior season, Burnett was able to score 28 a game at Carol City High School. Burnett grew up a Canes fan and that was one of the reasons why he came to the University of Miami. Burnett was a four-star recruit coming out of high school by every major recruiting website, but was only offered by Miami, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Stetson and Georgia Southern.

Despite being a highly ranked recruit, Burnett isn't the only one in his family being highly recruited. Burnett is brothers with Miami Central's star running back Dalvin Cook. I'm sure all the die-hard Canes fans who follow recruiting heavily know what an impact Cook has on the football field. Well, besides Coach Golden, Miami has Burnett as a bit of a recruiter. He's been quoted in the past saying that he would try and convince his brother flip his commitment to Clemson (then) and Florida (now) to a UM commitment. So, not only can Burnett play on the hardwood, but Canes fans will not say no to Dalvin Cook on the gridiron.

Okay so enough recruiting and let's talk about what Burnett can bring to the table this year and during his career. Burnett suffered a broken collarbone early in the summer, but during the last practice I attended about two weeks ago, he looked healthy and ready to go. He was also making shot after shot at the beginning of practice and that's pretty much what Canes fans can expect. A scoring point guard who can light up the court with his ability to score. Burnett won't average 37 points a game like he did in high school and the learning curve will still exist to him, but after he gets comfortable playing in the college game, I think Burnett will be a phenomenal player. This season, he's in a competition with Manu Lecomte for the starting point guard position. Manu is more of a prototypical point guard, but Burnett's scoring ability is second to none on this team. Expect Deandre Burnett to be a "bucket getter" for four seasons for the Canes.