In a stunning revelation, Marquette announced via Twitter that sophomores Deonte Burton and John Dawson would be transferring from the university to pursue their interests at unspecified schools.
Dawson had played four minutes this season with a short bench and was a prime transfer candidate, but Burton’s decision is a bit more surprising. The Milwaukee native was tabbed as a potential breakout star by Sports Illustrated going into the season behind a knack for scoring the basketball and overpowering athleticism that had made him fodder for highlight reel dunks.
However, the promise had yet to pan out this season with Burton seeing relatively limited minutes and having his production plummet from last season. Accorfing to KenPom, his O-Rating had dropped from 101.4 to 95.6 and he was only using 22 percent of possessions this season, down from 29 last year.
Beyond the numbers, he never looked comfortable on offense, playing hesitant around the rim as opposed to the bulldozer-like slasher he had proven to be last year. The biggest issue for Burton in both this year and last was his lack of impact outside of scoring. He was and is a poor rebounder, and despite his gaudy steal rate, 39th in the country this year, he was commonly out of position in both man and zone defenses .
Despite all this, there will be heavy interest in him from high majors, as he was a high-rated recruit who proved last season he could score at this level.
He can also do this:
One factor that has to be taken into account is the personal difficulties he experienced earlier this year when his mother passed away. The release from Marquette did not mention this as a reason, but human emotion is important to consider.
John Dawson’s transfer was written on the wall after seeing limited playing time under two regimes. He had a team-low O-Rating of 84.9 last season, but did play a crucial role in the victory at Georgetown.
For now, Marquette is left with 8 available players to finish out the season and will have three more open scholarships to use. Expect at least one transfer or junior college pickup to help balance the classes, as the incoming class already consists of 4 players.
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