Kudos to Dwight Burke!

[79Warrior]

Hit his free throws and more importantly had the defensive stop of the game with :30 seconds left!!!!

[esotericmindguy]

Kudos?  How about he actually finishes a play.  This isn't a personal attack so save your response, but Burke is the worst post player I have ever seen in a MU uniform.  Honestly, he makes me wish for the days of Greg Clausen.  Ugh.

[NCMUFan]

We can still congratulate him on what he did well.  I do wish he would expect the pass when one of the guards penetrates.  DJ had a great drive and then passed it to Dwight who was unexpecting it.  I can see where the guards might hesitate the next time they drive to dish it off to Dwight. 

[MUfan12]

McCauley was one of their big guns going into it, and Burke and Hazel did a helluva job limiting his touches in the paint. Yeah, I know his finishing around the hoop leaves something to be desired, but Burke did a great job doing the dirty work inside.

[Tampa Warrior]

Burke is the worst post player I have ever seen in a MU uniform. 

My goodness. Not even close.

[esotericmindguy]

My goodness. Not even close.

Haha, may have gotten carried away out of frustration.  But really, he should be playing 10-12 minutes a game IMO.

[ErickJD08]

He is pretty bad.  He is not good with the ball.  He is not good without the ball.  He has a hard time catching the  ball.  If someone can name one thing he is just average at, it would enlighten me. 

[Markusquette]

yeah let's start hazel and play him for 20+  

[willie warrior]

I hear that he is pretty good at changing his uniform.

I agree with the above. He is the worst post player since Clausen. The differnce is that Clausen improved a bit by his senior year, and Clausen had 3 to 4 inches of height over Burke.

Burke tries (somewhat) but he is a huge liability out there.

[tower912]

Dwight Burke busts his hump every night.   He didn't even start on his high school team and no one in their wildest dreams ever projected him as anything more than a role player.   But here he is, starting at the 5 on a ranked BEast team.    Any contribution we get from him is gravy.   Most nights, the best we can hope for is that he isn't a liability.    But he still busts his hump every night.

[willie warrior]

many people bust their rump, but that does not justify them being a billionaire or a brain surgeon or a skilled lawyer or a D1 center if they cannot get the job done. If the guy did not even start in HS and is extremely marginal now, why is he playing about 25 minutes? Was he a Crean afterthought in recruiting? He hurts more than he helps. It is nothing personal--he is in over his head big time.

[Pardner]

many people bust their rump, but that does not justify them being a billionaire or a brain surgeon or a skilled lawyer or a D1 center if they cannot get the job done. If the guy did not even start in HS and is extremely marginal now, why is he playing about 25 minutes? Was he a Crean afterthought in recruiting? He hurts more than he helps. It is nothing personal--he is in over his head big time.

hmmm...let's see here about Dwight.  He held their leading scorer to 8 points, down from his 15.3 average.  That person also was their leading rebounder, averaging 9--but since he was playing against a guy in over his head, was only able to grab 4 last night.  That guy he was guarding also choked up a hairball by missing two FT's with the game on the line, but DB nailed his two.  Seems to me DB also made the key stop and steal to get us the ball back in the final seconds.  Oh yeah, DB also double picked that guy as he was trying to trap DJ at the end of the game.  Not bad for a role player who sat on the bench in HS.     DB also shut off Bucky's best player in that game.  I'll tell you what, I appreciate the winner.

[ATWizJr]

+1.  We would not have won without Burke.

[lab_warrior]

DB's stop there near the end was terrific...he didn't leave his feet, and yeah, making FTs was also huge.  What, at the end of the day, do we ask for from the guy?  Rebound, play good D, and make FTs and finish around the hoop.  He did all 3 of those last night.

[tower912]

He plays because right now he is our best option at the 5.   Period.   Start the yada-yada-yadaing about why, be it Crean or transfers.   Whatever.   As of 12/23/08, he is our best option at the 5.    To paraphrase Denny Green, he is who we thought he was.   Undersized, bad hands, no touch.   But busting your hump every night counts for a lot in my book.   And when he does a decent job, like last night, he should be recognized.    

[avid1010]

I wouldn't be so quick to completely rip a KID (student/athlete) apart if he's busting his butt to do whatever he can for the team.  Buzz has never mentioned he fails to work hard, and he obviously taking care of his business of the court, so there's no need to completely rip him apart.  He makes mistakes, and I don't have a problem with people pointing that out, but to completely rip him apart doesn't seem right.

[Ahoya06]

+1

Great hustle from Dwight, and while he had his struggles, he made the plays when it counted.

His talent level may not always be on par with the BE, but you won't find a guy who busts his butt more day in and day out than Dwight Burke...

[Tortuga94]

Dwight Burke is a very limited player offensively, but he does do pretty well on the defensive end, plus with the big three plus Lazar, we don't need DB to score.  His job is to play tough D and rebound and set picks on offense.  Plus, as other people have mentioned, he is the best option we have at the 5 spot.

But as limited as he may be, he is nowhere near Biggie Clausen territory.  Clausen truly was the most limited center we've had, at least as far as I can recall. 

[tower912]

The two headed monster of Rod Grosse and Roman Mueller was no great shakes.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

many people bust their rump, but that does not justify them being a billionaire or a brain surgeon or a skilled lawyer or a D1 center if they cannot get the job done. If the guy did not even start in HS and is extremely marginal now, why is he playing about 25 minutes? Was he a Crean afterthought in recruiting? He hurts more than he helps. It is nothing personal--he is in over his head big time.

The difference is that he is a student athlete. An amateur. You aren't paying him to play, and therefore your criticism isn't justified (as opposed to if you were paying a lawyer or surgeon to perform a job).

All you can ask from these kids is that they work their butts off in the classroom and on the court.

MU offered him a scholarship, Dwight accepted and has worked very hard. What else do you want from him?

[wildbill sb]

But, don't you see, I have to escape the reality of my own wretched, miserable life by projecting my fantasies onto a public persona.  Some find fulfillment watching Angelina or Brad or Brett cavort.  For me it's Dwight, it's Dwight.  When he succeeds, I succeed.  When he doesn't, I'm reminded once again that my life is humdrum, pointless, without value to anyone.  Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night.   

[bilsu]

He is the Bill Neary of this team. Apreciated by his coach and unappreciated by the fans.

[THEGYMBAR]

Bill Neary of this team? Not even close. Firstly Bill Neary was not the only option at his position. Neary started because Al was nmaking a point to Toone. As you remember Al started the same five every game unless injury. Neary was used as motivation for Toone. Burke unfortunately is only option at the position.

Neary was appreciated by me for one simple reason. I knew when he left the game a much more talented went in for him. He played a role but that role was far smaller than Burke's role on this team. I wish Burke was the Neary of this team and he was starting over a far more talented player. He starts because everyone else, other than Lazar, over 6-5 sucks as well.

[bilsu]

THEGYMBAR how old are you that you remember Neary?
The comparison is apt, because fans could only see the things the players could not do. It was worse for Neary, because Bernard Toone (the most naturally gifted player McGuire recruited) played behind him.
Neary averaged more points and rebounds than Burke will.

[THEGYMBAR]

Bilsu---Unfortunately old enough to remember every one of Al's greatest teams. My MU recollection probably starts with Jimmy Chones era. I remember crying when Allie McGuire stepped out of bounds against Ohio State to end one of the greastest years ever.


You are correct on Toone's skills. I loved watching him play. One of my five favorite players in school history. Neary was someone that I always liked, both as person and player. In my opinion though he was a poor man's Rick Campbell.