In exciting fashion on Monday morning, Hillcrest Prep's terrific 6-foot-9 unsigned senior forward Jordan Burks announced his commitment to the University of Kentucky through social media. Burks had gone uncommitted to a college program for some time before his commitment announcement, but he was one of the nation's elite available prospects. Burks led the Overtime Elite in scoring this past prep season, playing against some of the top rising professional talent in the country. Now, Burks, after having an excellent season for Hillcrest Prep, will be a Kentucky Wildcat.
Burks will now choose to sign with Kentucky over previous offers from a large number of schools, which included Georgia Tech, Houston, Florida, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Xavier, DePaul, Missouri, Texas Tech, Marquette, VCU, UAB, Wichita State, Tulsa, South Florida, Mississippi State, SMU, New Mexico State, GCU, Valparaiso, George Mason, Eastern Michigan, NJIT, Appalachian State, Iona, College of Charleston, Florida A&M, Florida Gulf Coast, UIC, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Milwaukee, Stetson and Morgan State.
Burks is a unique and electric prospect and he showed it this season on the Overtime Elite circuit, averaging 27 points per/game against elite-level competition. With such future NBA stars as Amen and Ausar Thompson receiving the majority of attention on the circuit (both projected to be NBA Lottery picks this summer), Burks was an amazing performer and standout in the league, but did not receive the same national acclaim, but is a worthy prospect.
Burks came to Hillcrest Prep as a transfer to the program during their OTE season, and immediately stepped in and went to extreme work. Burks was a previous commit to Ole Miss, but decided to re-open his college recruitment.
Burks, with continued hard work, has now put himself into a situation where he will have an opportunity to now reach his ultimate goal of playing in the NBA. He is definitely now on the radar after a terrific senior season. Congratulations and good luck to him in his future, as we have another big time prospect coming out of the amazing Hillcrest Prep.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: At 6-foot-9 in height, Burks is a serious talent with excellent mobility and fluidity for his size. He is a high-volume scoring talent that can score at all (3) levels, and is an explosively athletic finisher at the rim, where he has excellent lift and ability to finish over defenders. Burks is a good ball handler for his size and works hard on his offensive skillset to create excellent versatility for himself as a player. Definitely a wing prospect, Burks is among the bigger and more fluid young wings in the business and has the size and prowess to create major mis-match problems for opposing defenders. He competes hard on both ends of the floor and plays with good intensity overall. An active rebounder and also shot-blocker. As he matures as a player, he could also also develop into a very good defender over time, as a result of his length and competitiveness on the floor. Very few prospects in the country have the potential, upside and sheer production of Burks. This season on the OTE circuit, he competed each night against pros and pro level competition, so he is certainly battle tested and will make a major impact for the college program that ultimately lands this big-time talent.
