Notebook: Penn's Burton makes case as best boys basketball player in the South Bend area
Markus Burton felt he had been overlooked ever since coming to Penn. But entering his junior season with the Kingsmen this season, everything changed, especially in their game against Michigan City.
Penn defeated the Wolves, 86-81, to improve to 7-0. But Burton was the real story. He finished the game with a career-high 41 points. In his eyes, that performance not only set him up for a breakout year, but also put himself on the map for Indiana high school hoops.
"This year I had to prove a lot of people wrong and just be me," Burton told The South Bend Tribune.
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In 10 games this season Burton is averaging 27.8 points per game, putting him amongst the most prolific scorers in Indiana. He is shooting 50.6% from the field and 50% from behind the arc, too.
"I improved my jump shot a lot since I have been at Penn," Burton said. "That has helped me a lot. Also me rushing things, not driving into too many people."
Offensive production like that has always been a part of Burton's repertoire. But it is showing itself more this season because of the junior's patience, not only from game-to-game, but in his career.
"My first year on varsity I was kind of timid a little bit because I was an eighth--grader thrown right into varsity basketball," he said. "This year, I learned you got to be patient, read the defense, let things come and don’t rush things and just work."
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Burton has been a varsity player every year with Penn. Like any kid getting his first action, he wanted to make an immediate impact. Burton quickly learned that high-level basketball doesn't work that way, and there are other ways to impact a game.
Now with his scoring rearing its head, Burton has become a complete player.
"This year it is not like that," Burton said. 'I can score the ball. I can pass the ball. I can play defense and help my team win."
At 10-1 this season, and 5-0 in Northern Indiana Conference play, Burton has the Kingsmen in position to compete for more than a league title this March.
"Just getting better as a team, playing defense, talking with each other and more talking on the floor as we go along and continue to get better," he said.
Mishawaka coach dealing with 3rd bout of COVID
Mishawaka coach Ron Hecklinski thought he was done with COVID after his first bout. He thought a second positive was the final time. Now the long-time basketball coach has to miss two games because of a third bout with the contagious disease.
"I think its not only frustrating for me, but it is frustrating for everybody because there is a lot of scenarios where COVID has knocked players out of different teams and it's just something that is a very unpredictable thing," Hecklinski said in a phone interview. "When it hits you just have to take care of your business and take care of your health."
Hecklinski missed Tuesday night's home game against South Bend Clay and will also miss this weekends game at Northridge on Jan. 22.
Hecklinski's positive test came in a tough spot with the Cavemen (7-2), completely turning their season around and putting themselves in the thick of the Northern Lakes Conference title race. After its 0-2 start, Mishawaka has won seven consecutive games, including both of its league games, putting it one game behind NorthWood (3-0) in the NLC standings.
Now with Hecklinski sidelined for the next five days, the Cavemen will have to continue their rise with the help of their assistant coaches.
"Those guys will handle it," Hecklinski said. "They are excellent coaches and I am just concentrating on getting myself better and hopefully ready to go next week."
Game of the week: Penn at Mishawaka Marian
Friday's matchup between Penn. No. 8 in Class 4A at Marian, No. 5 in Class 3A, will go a long way in sorting out the NIC title.
Currently, Glenn (6-0 in NIC) owns a half-game lead over Penn (5-0) and a full-game lead over the Knights (4-0), as being the last three undefeated teams in the league. The Falcons have yet to lose a game all year at 12-0.
Friday's game will feature some big-time scorers, too in Burton for the Kingsmen as well as Deaglan Sullivan for Marian. And the pressure will be on both teams, as one loss could be enough to put a team out of the league race with two months left in the season.
Standings
NIC (as of Monday afternoon)
Glenn 12-0 (6-0); Penn 10-1 (5-0); Marian 10-2 (4-0); South Bend Washington 11-4 (4-2); South Bend Saint Joseph 6-5 (3-2); South Bend Riley 8-6 (2-3); Jimtown 5-7 (2-3); South Bend Adams 4-8 (2-3); Elkhart 2-8 (2-3); Bremen 5-4 (1-3); South Bend Clay 4-9 (0-6); New Prairie 2-10 (0-6)
NLC (as of Monday afternoon)
NorthWood 13-1 (3-0); Warsaw 9-4 (3-0); Mishawaka 7-2 (2-0); Goshen 9-2 (2-1); Concord 5-6 (1-2); Wawasee 4-7 (0-2); Plymouth 4-10 (0-3); Northridge 3-8 ( 0-3)
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: High school basketball: Penn junior's offense benefiting from patience
