Scott David Burrell (born January 12, 1971) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach and former player who is currently the men's basketball head coach at

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is ...

. He has played internationally and was also a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player. In 1990, Burrell was drafted by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

of MLB. He played in Minor League Baseball during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. After ending his baseball career, he was drafted in 1993 by the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA. He was later traded to the Golden State Warriors and then the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

, where he won a championship ring. He next played with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and then finished his NBA career with the Hornets in 2000–01. He played in other professional basketball leagues through the 2005–06 season.

Early life

Born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, Burrell was raised in nearby Hamden and attended Hamden High School. At Hamden High, in addition to basketball, Burrell was a quarterback on the football team and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

on the baseball team. Burrell was named to the ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Second Team as a senior in 1989. He was drafted by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

in the first round of the

1989 Major League Baseball draft First-round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft on June 5. Supplemental first round selections Other notable players * Brian Hunter, 2nd round, 35th overall by the Houston Astros * Ti ...

after graduating from high school. Burrell initially planned on attending the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

to play baseball, before

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

assistant basketball coach

Howie Dickenman Howard Brandt Dickenman, Jr. (born November 9, 1946) is a retired American college basketball coach and the former men's basketball head coach for the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils. He was the second-longest tenured head coac ...

convinced Burrell to commit to Connecticut.

College career

From 1989 to 1993, Burrell played at guard and forward for the

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's foo ...

under

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is a longtime college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( 1999, ...

. As a freshman in 1989–90, Burrell averaged 8.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. In 1990, Burrell was drafted by another baseball team, the

, and Burrell spent the next two summers playing minor league baseball. As a junior in 1991–92, Burrell averaged a career high 16.3 points, and he had a career high 7.5 rebounds in 1990–91. Burrell became the first player in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

basketball history to compile over 1,500 points, 750 rebounds, 275 assists and 300 steals. Burrell is known for his full-court pass with one second on the clock to

Tate George Tate Claude George (born May 29, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 22nd overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft from the University of Connecticut. A and guard, he played a ...

, who hit a shot as time expired to beat Clemson in the East Regional semi-final of the

1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's college basketball. It began on March 15, 1990, and ended with the champions ...

. Burrell went back to school and received his bachelor's degree in general studies from the University of Connecticut on May 8, 2010.

Professional career

Minor league baseball (1990–1991)

After being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round of the

1990 Major League Baseball draft The 1990 Major League Baseball ( MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

, Burrell was a minor league baseball pitcher from 1990 to 1991, first with the St. Catharines Blue Jays in 1990 and splitting the 1991 season between the Myrtle Beach Hurricanes and St. Catharines Blue Jays. Burrell had a 3.71 ERA and 2–6 record as a minor league pitcher.

Charlotte Hornets (1993–1997)

Burrell was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 20th overall pick in the

1993 NBA draft The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Hou ...

. He averaged 4.8 points per game during his rookie season, during which he missed 31 games due to knee, ankle, and Achilles tendon injuries. In the 1994–95 season, Burrell played in 65 games with 62 starts and averaged 11.5 points and 5.7 rebounds. Despite a season ending injury on April 1, 1995, Burrell finished third in

NBA Most Improved Player Award The NBA's Most Improved Player Award (MIP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player who has shown the most progress during the regular season compared to previous seasons. The winner is selected by a panel of s ...

votes. On February 11, he also finished third at the AT&T Long-Distance Shootout. During the

1995–96 NBA season The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 50th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Final ...

, Burrell was limited to 20 games due to injuries, including Achilles tendon surgery. After that season, Burrell would play mostly off the bench.

Later NBA career (1997–2001)

On February 20, 1997, the Hornets traded Burrell to the Golden State Warriors for

Donald Royal Donald Adam Royal (born May 22, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player, a 6'8" small forward. He played collegiate basketball at the University of Notre Dame, and was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third round (52nd ...

. Burrell averaged 5.9 points overall in 1996–97. On September 22, 1997, the Warriors traded Burrell to the

for

Dickey Simpkins LuBara Dixon "Dickey" Simpkins (born April 6, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player best known for his tenure with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s. He is currently a scout for the Washington Wizards. A 6' 9" forward/ce ...

. Bulls general manager Jerry Krause sought Burrell for his ability to play both forward spots. During the season, in which the Bulls won the

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

, Burrell played 80 games with three starts and averaged 5.2 points and 2.5 rebounds. On February 2, 1998, Burrell scored a season high 24 points in 18 minutes in a 111–72 victory over the Denver Nuggets. '' The Last Dance'', a 2020

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

documentary series on Burrell's Bulls teammate Michael Jordan, depicts Burrell as a common target of Jordan's competitive banter. Burrell contributed to the Bulls’ success that season by guarding Jordan in practice. His athleticism made him a good match for Jordan. Shortly after the

1998–99 NBA lockout The 1998–99 NBA lockout was the third lockout of four in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It lasted from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999, and forced the 1998–99 regular season to be shortened to 50 games per team ...

ended, the Bulls released Burrell on January 25, 1999. Burrell signed as a free agent with the

nearly a week later on February 3; he would average 6.6 points in 1999 and 6.1 points in 1999–2000 with the Nets. Burrell had successful hand and knee surgery on April 27, 2000. On April 10, 2001, Burrell returned to the Charlotte Hornets, where he played four games off the bench in what would be his final NBA season.

NBDL and overseas career (2001–2006)

Burrell signed with National Basketball Development League (NBDL, now

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

) team

Fayetteville Patriots The Fayetteville Patriots were an NBA Development League team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. Its logo design features a bald eagle's head and a basketball in the middle of a capital letter "P" with stars and stripes filling ...

on March 8, 2002. In six games with five starts, Burrell averaged 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in his only NBDL season. After leaving the NBDL, Burrell finished much of his professional basketball career internationally, starting with the

Shaanxi Kylins The Guangzhou Loong Lions () are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. They play in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). History The team was founded in November 2000 as Shaanxi Gait ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

where he averaged 18.0 points and 6.2 rebounds in 2002–03. In 2003–04, Burrell played for the Batang Thunder of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

, averaging 25.1 points and 5.0 rebounds. Burrell returned to the U.S. signing with the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

of the Continental Basketball Association on November 30, 2004. Burrell played 14 games for the Stampede, averaging 6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds. In 2005, Burrell signed with

Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket (), also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is the Bilba ...

of the Spanish Liga ACB, where he played eight games and averaged 5.0 points. On January 24, 2005, Burrell signed with the Hitachi Sunrockers of the Japanese JBL Super League. Burrell averaged 6.2 points in his final pro basketball season with Hitachi in 2005–06.

Coaching career

In the 2006–07 season, Burrell was an assistant coach for the

Colorado 14ers Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

of the NBA D-League (now

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

). On August 17, 2007, Burrell became an assistant coach for the Quinnipiac Bobcats men's basketball team at

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...

in his hometown of

Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant". The population was 61,169 at the 2020 census. History The peaceful tribe of Quinnipiacs were the first residents of the ...

, under former UConn assistant coach Tom Moore. Burrell helped Quinnipiac win the regular season

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

title and qualify for the NIT in the 2009–10 season. On July 13, 2015, Burrell was hired as head men's basketball coach at

, a Division II school in New Haven. Inheriting a 24–8 team from former head coach Mike Donnelly, Burrell led the Southern Connecticut Fighting Owls to a 22–8 (17–3 conference) record,

Northeast-10 Conference The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states o ...

Southwest Division title, and NCAA tournament appearance in his first season; as a result of this success, Burrell earned

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fr ...

Coach of the Year honors. Burrell followed up with an 18–13 record and second straight NCAA tournament under his tenure (fourth overall for the program) in 2016–17. As of the 2019–20 season, Burrell has a 91–56 cumulative record at Southern Connecticut .

Head coaching record

Personal life

Following the Chicago Bulls' 1998 championship, Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland issued a proclamation of October 20, 1998 as "Scott Burrell Day," after the town of Hamden presented Burrell with a "

key to the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

." Burrell is married to

SportsNet New York SportsNet New York (SNY) is an American regional sports network owned by Sterling Entertainment Enterprises, LLC, itself a joint venture between the Fred Wilpon (which owns a controlling 65% interest) Sterling Equities, Charter Communications th ...

reporter Jeané Coakley. They have two children. His niece is the USA Eagles womens Rugby Union Lock Alycia Washington.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, 51 , , 16 , , 15.0 , , .419 , , .333 , , .657 , , 2.6 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .3 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 65 , , 62 , , 31.0 , , .467 , , .409 , , .694 , , 5.7 , , 2.5 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 11.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 20 , , 20 , , 34.7 , , .447 , , .378 , , .750 , , 4.9 , , 2.4 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 13.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 2 , , 17.2 , , .344 , , .345 , , .792 , , 2.8 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .4 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Golden State , 29 , , 0 , , 15.8 , , .379 , , .361, , .652 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 80 , , 3 , , 13.7 , , .424 , , .354 , , .734 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , .8 , , .5 , , 5.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 32 , , 0 , , 22.1 , , .361 , , .389 , , .810 , , 3.7 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 9 , , 18.1 , , .394 , , .353 , , .780 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , .6 , , 6.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 10.3 , , .467 , , .333 , , .250 , , .8 , , .3 , , .8 , , .0 , , 4.3 , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career , 383 , , 122 , , 19.8 , , .418 , , .373 , , .723 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .5 , , 6.9

Playoffs

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1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

† , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 21 , , 0 , , 12.4 , , .438 , , .300 , , .909 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .9 , , .1 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , 2001 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .667 , , 0 , , .500 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 2.5 , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career , 23 , , 0 , , 11.9 , , .447 , , .286 , , .846 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .9 , , .1 , , 3.7

College

, - , 1989–90 ,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, 32 , , 20 , , 25.8 , , .386 , , .313 , , .623 , , 5.5 , , 1.8 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , 8.2 , - ,

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 31 , , – , , 34.7 , , .440 , , .343 , , .592 , , 7.5 , , 3.1 , , 3.6 , , 1.3 , , 12.7 , - , 1991–92 ,

, 30 , , 30 , , 35.3 , , .453 , , .396 , , .611 , , 6.1 , , 2.9 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , 16.3 , - ,

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 26 , , –, , 33.1 , , .411 , , .345 , , .760 , , 6.0 , , 2.1 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , 16.1 , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career , 119 , , 50+ , , 32.1 , , .426, , .357 , , .640 , , 6.3 , , 2.5 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , 13.1

References

External links

*
Scott Burrell player profile
at NBA.com via

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrell, Scott 1971 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Barako Bull Energy Boosters players Baseball players from Connecticut Basketball coaches from Connecticut Basketball players from New Haven, Connecticut Bilbao Basket players Charlotte Hornets draft picks Charlotte Hornets players Chicago Bulls players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Colorado 14ers coaches Fayetteville Patriots players Golden State Warriors players Idaho Stampede (CBA) players Liga ACB players Myrtle Beach Hurricanes players New Jersey Nets players People from Hamden, Connecticut Philippine Basketball Association imports Quinnipiac Bobcats men's basketball coaches Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from New Haven, Connecticut St. Catharines Blue Jays players Sun Rockers Shibuya players UConn Huskies men's basketball players