Willie James Burton Jr. (born 24 June 1962) is an American-New Zealand former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who spent 19 seasons playing in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NBL). Burton came to New Zealand in the mid-1980s to play for

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

and became a league legend. He kept himself in great shape and was still playing top basketball when he turned 40. He won six rebounding titles and ranks as the league's all-time leader around the boards. He finished his career with 4,244 career rebounds, nearly 1,500 rebounds more than the next best individual rebounding total.

Early life and career

Burton grew up playing

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

in his hometown of

Millen, Georgia Millen is a city, and the county seat of Jenkins County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,120 at the 2010 census, down from 3,492 at the 2000 census. The city is intersected by U.S. Route 25 and State Route 17, and the proposed Inte ...

. Lanky, flexible and possessing lightning reflexes, Burton stood head and shoulders above others as a "cornerman" for his team at the age of 12. His father, Willie James Sr., was a keen baseball player, but Burton was not so much. Luckily for Burton, a friend, Alonzo Holmes, lived down the road in his neighbourhood and introduced him to basketball. He went on to play four years of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

between 1980 and 1984. He appeared in 111 games for the Volunteers over his career, and averaged a team-high 13.5 points per game as a senior in 1983–84. He also led the team in rebounds per game as a junior and senior (8.1 and 7.3 per game respectively), and blocks per game as a sophomore and junior (1.3 and 0.8 per game respectively). Following his senior season with Tennessee, Burton was selected in the sixth round of the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally c ...

by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. He subsequently attended training camp with the Nuggets, but he did not make the final roster cut.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .524 , , .000 , , .333 , , 1.9 , , .0 , , .4 , , .4 , , 1.7 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" , Tennessee , 30 , , 30 , , 26.1 , , .511 , , .000 , , .667 , , 5.4 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , 1.3 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" , Tennessee , 32 , , 32 , , 34.2 , , .498 , , .000 , , .705 , , 8.1 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 9.1 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" , Tennessee , 35 , , 35 , , 34.4 , , .523 , , .000 , , .765 , , 7.3 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 13.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 111 , , 97 , , 28.4 , , .513 , , .000 , , .716 , , 6.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 8.6

NBL career

In 1985, Burton moved to New Zealand and joined the Palmerston North Jets of the National Basketball League (NBL). In his first season, he averaged 28.6 points and a league-high 16.1 rebounds per game. He continued on with the Jets in 1986 before joining the

Hawke's Bay Hawks The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Taylor Hawks ...

in 1987. After two seasons with the Hawks, he returned to Palmerston North, playing for them in 1989 and 1990. In 1991, he joined

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

and played three seasons for the team before returning to Hawke's Bay in 1994 where he spent the next four years. After playing in the second division competition for the North Otago Penguins in 1998, he returned to Palmerston North for a third stint in 1999, but again re-joined the Hawks just two seasons later. Burton retired following the 2002 season, but came out of retirement in 2005 to help the Hawks reach the grand final, where they were defeated by the

Auckland Stars The Auckland Stars were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Stars competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at ASB Stadium. Team history The Auckland Stars, then known as Auckland Metro, were ...

by one point. He played one final season in 2006, this time winning his first and only championship with an 85–69 win in the grand final over Auckland. He retired for a second time following the 2006 season, departing the NBL after 19 seasons. Burton finished his NBL career as an eight-time All-Star Five honouree and a six-time rebounding champion. He was also named Most Outstanding Forward in 1989, and after gaining New Zealand citizenship in the mid-90s, he was named Most Outstanding Kiwi Forward/Centre in 1997. As evidence of his all-round game, he also won the league assist title in 1999 with 5.6 assists per game. His 4,244 career rebounds ranks first on the league's all-time rebounding list. After retiring from playing, Burton continued on as an assistant coach with the Hawks, while also coaching the Hawke's Bay under 15, 17 and 19 men's teams.

National team career

Burton's all-round game made him an ideal substitute off the bench for Tall Black captain

Pero Cameron Sean Pero MacPherson Cameron (born 5 June 1974) is a New Zealand basketball coach and former player. A FIBA Hall of Fame member, he captained the New Zealand Tall Blacks from 2000 to 2010, helping lead New Zealand to the semifinal of the 200 ...

when he was selected to play for New Zealand at the

2001 Goodwill Games The 2001 Goodwill Games was the fifth and final edition of the international multi-sport event. The competition was held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 29 August to 9 September 2001. A total around 1300 athletes took part in 14 sportin ...

at the age of 39. He then played a crucial part in the historic series victory over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

later that year. Burton was still in the selection mix for the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in ...

, but was replaced by

Ed Book Edward Frank Book (born September 23, 1970) is an American-New Zealand former professional basketball player. Listed at 211 cm (6'11") and 112 kg, Book played the centre position. Playing career Born in Buffalo, New York, Book was educ ...

as the team's one allowable naturalised player following the team's series against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Personal

Burton and his wife Suzanne, a New Zealander, have two sons, Alonzo and Dominique. Alonzo followed in his father's footsteps and joined the

in 2012.

References

External links

Basketball New Zealand profileTennessee Volunteers' 1982–83 roster2006 FIBA.com article on Burton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Willie 1962 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Denver Nuggets draft picks Hawke's Bay Hawks players Power forwards (basketball) Tennessee Volunteers basketball players American men's basketball players Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople