SI's Luke Winn says Deonte will be a "Breakout Player"

[77ncaachamps]

Winn: Deonte Burton, Marquette. He's a near-perfect fit for my Breakout Sophomore Formula: a reasonably efficient, high-volume shooter who'll be taking on a much bigger role on a depleted team. The Golden Eagles desperately need offense, and Burton, in limited minutes last season, used a higher percentage of his team's possessions than all but one major-conference freshman -- Duke's Jabari Parker.

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2014/11/10/predictions-season-final-four-player-year?page=2&devicetype=default

[tower912]

He had better be.  Will he be like Gardner, a dominant offensive player who doesn't start?     IMO, when Luke is eligible, it opens the door for Deonte to start.    For now, because the team is so short, Wojo is going to start the little height that he has.    Also, I imagine that Deonte may have been distracted at practice the last couple of months.   Understandably.  (again, deepest condolences to you, Deonte)    All of that aside, I expect that he will continue to be a volume shooter and scorer. 

[THRILLHO]

I think we saw glimpses of some improvement in the exhibition, not in his scoring ability, which was already well known, but in his willingness to pass. Last year he was basically a black hole, and that was probably for the best given the other offensive options. But a couple times against WLC, he got in trouble in the lane and kicked it back out. Of course that might be an over-interpretation of a single skewed sample, but on the other hand against WLC he probably could've forced more shots and gotten away with it but he didn't.

[Daniel]

I think we saw glimpses of some improvement in the exhibition, not in his scoring ability, which was already well known, but in his willingness to pass. Last year he was basically a black hole, and that was probably for the best given the other offensive options. But a couple times against WLC, he got in trouble in the lane and kicked it back out. Of course that might be an over-interpretation of a single skewed sample, but on the other hand against WLC he probably could've forced more shots and gotten away with it but he didn't.

Noticed that myself with Deonte vs WLC. HE DID MAKE SEVERAL PASSES WHICH LAST YEr would not have happened.  He fed it inside once instead of taking a king dp shot. Nice to see.

[NersEllenson]

I think we saw glimpses of some improvement in the exhibition, not in his scoring ability, which was already well known, but in his willingness to pass. Last year he was basically a black hole, and that was probably for the best given the other offensive options. But a couple times against WLC, he got in trouble in the lane and kicked it back out. Of course that might be an over-interpretation of a single skewed sample, but on the other hand against WLC he probably could've forced more shots and gotten away with it but he didn't.

Deonte definitely was not shy about launching shots last year - but I think a little context needs to be provided:  Other than Mayo, he was the only guy on the team who could create a shot for himself anytime he wanted (and generally it was a very high percentage shot going toward the rack), and two, with the team so devoid of offense last season - in my view he needed to be a high volume shooter.

Love that he has the ability to create his own virtually anytime he wants.  That's such a valuable skill to have on a team.  Yet always a delicate balance for any player who can get a shot off anytime they want to not become a ball hog.  I think Deonte will grow this season, will be the focal point of the opposition's defense, and Deonte will become a good passer/team player out of double teams.

[MU82]

One thing that will change for Deonte this season is he will not have to share space with Davante. It was interesting to watch the two of them on the court together last season. They often wanted the same territory and it was funny to see Davante defer to Deonte more times than not.

I suspect that was because Deonte could get the ball 10-15 feet away from the basket and get to the rim whereas Davante had to get a pass after he established position. So when Davante saw Deonte coming, he cleared out.

Anyway, we need a huge offensive season from Deonte to have a prayer of being competitive. And while I want him to improve his overall defense, I hope he doesn't sacrifice most of his risk-taking, which can help produce easy fast-break buckets, something that almost disappeared from our repertoire last season.

Not asking for too much from a 6-foot-4 power forward, am I?