Burke and Iverson
Since I first saw Burke play, more and more does his game remind me of Allen Iverson's game. I'm no basketball expert, and perhaps its the similar sinze and position, but when I see him play, the first thing that comes to mind is Iverson.
I remember Iverson being great at Georgetown but what I don't remember is how good he was as a true freshman, and wonder if anyone can chime in on Burke's progress at this point vs Iverson as a true freshman.
Regardless, I think Burke will be at Iverson's level when he entered the NBA after his senior year. Burke is a bona-fide star.... and I digress...... by the way, so is Hardaway, but in a few ways Burke's success has masked Hardaway's skills....ie say if Burke wasn't on our team, we'd be relying alot more on Hardaway and you've seen bursts of absolute dominance by Hardaway...... Both Burke and Hardaway are NBA locks.....and I am happy.
March 10th, 2012 at 11:06 AM ^
March 10th, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
March 10th, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^
but lebron is overrated.
March 10th, 2012 at 12:35 PM ^
LeBron is having, arguably, the greatest statistical season of all time this year, and it's a condensed schedule.
STFU, please.
The difference is, Lebron may take the majority of his teams shots, but the guy also shot at or over 50%. THERE IS A REASON WHY IVERSON WAS NOT A WINNER BUT LEBRON IS.
Do you actually think a player can take a teams majority shots, shoot 39% from the field, and win a championship? Heck, i can score 20 points if you let me take 35 shots a game too, and be one of the leading scorers in the NBA, but i guarantee you, my team WONT make the playoffs!!!
The lack of sense is unbelievable here! WOW!
You think scoring 25 points, going 11 of 30 from the field, 3 for 10 from 3 point land is good? Yeah, most here obviously would because my god, he scored 25 points so he must be one of the all time best! FEED HIM THE BALL, HES A SCORER!
Remind me, when im looking for a chemical engineer to work on a project at Hemlock Semiconductor, to not come seeking for one on this board.
Sorry for the rant folks, but some peoples rationale blows my mind.
March 10th, 2012 at 12:04 PM ^
"literally blow by anyone at will"
he wouldnt literally blow by anyone at will. not literally. he was stopped at least once.
March 10th, 2012 at 10:00 AM ^
I love burke, and he can play in the NBA (hopefully not next year), but just search for iverson georgetown on youtube and you will realize that no.
March 10th, 2012 at 12:02 PM ^
March 10th, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^
If Burke stays for one more year, wins Big Ten POTY (Iverson won Big East POTY both years at Georgetown, so Burke is already behind the curve), and averages close to 25ppg, then you can kinda start to make comparisons.
If his splits look similar to 21.1ppg, 6.7apg, 3.7rpg, in his first NBA season and he wins Rookie of the Year, then we can start to make serious comparisons.
March 10th, 2012 at 10:03 AM ^
college player except Isiah was surrounded by monster talent as a freshman and sophomore at IU, something Trey will get to experience next year. Very similar penetration and control of the floor.
March 10th, 2012 at 10:06 AM ^
I think that's a decent comparison. Their games are pretty similar IMO, but Zeke was quicker. Burke is the better shooter though. They can both score when they want/have to but do an even better job facilitating the offense.
March 10th, 2012 at 10:05 AM ^
Not only do they not have similar attributes when it comes to speed and quickness, but they also have much different games. Seems the only similarities are that they do not have prototypical PG size and are African-American.
March 10th, 2012 at 10:11 AM ^
I don't like the Allen Iverson comparison at all. I think they have very different playing styles. Trey Burke reminds me more of a shorter Deron Williams. Both have a very good mid-range game, both are strong finishers around the basket, and both are deceptively fast.
March 10th, 2012 at 10:08 AM ^
Very different players. Iverson averaged 20 ppg as a freshman at Georgetown while shooting only 23% from downtown. Burke is reasonably quick but Iverson was lightning-fast.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/allen-iverson-1.html
March 10th, 2012 at 10:28 AM ^
March 10th, 2012 at 10:30 AM ^
Is that you, Fred Jackson?
March 10th, 2012 at 10:33 AM ^
of BJ Armstrong at Iowa before he became a championship ring wearing tag-along on the Bulls.
March 10th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^
I will go old school, the guy who Trey reminds me of; 76'er great Maurice Cheeks. Both very smart players, who get the most out of their talent. Neither have the talent level of an Isaiah or Iverson, but really talented nonetheless, and truly dedicated to the game.
March 10th, 2012 at 11:20 AM ^
I heard an interesting Tom Izzo clip on WWJ a week or so ago. Izzo was responding to someones statement, "if you take Draymond Green of MSU they aren't that good". Izzo laughed and said, paraphrasing,"you can say that about alot of teams, How good is OSU without Sullinger,or Michigan without Burke, you take a great player off a team and of course they aren't going to be as good". Everyone realizes just how good Burke is and he is only a freshman.
I would love to hear Tim (Texas two step) Hardadway's opinion of Trey Burke. Hardaway has probably seen Burke more than any NBA scout. I'm sure we would just get fluff, but I'd eat it up anyway.
March 10th, 2012 at 11:22 AM ^
I'd pick Iverson to win a game, and Burke to win a Championship.
March 10th, 2012 at 11:49 AM ^
You take any of the Iverson's 76'er teams during his prime and replace him with Burke. There is no way even NBA Burke (5 years more mature) would get those teams to playoffs let alone NBA finals (I don't think you if you replaced Iverson with Chris Paul, they get to the finals).
So, go ahead and build your championship team with Burke. Without surrounding him with franchise players, that team isn't going anywhere.
March 10th, 2012 at 11:49 AM ^
No. Just no. A.I. was flat out the the most athletic player on the court for most of his NBA career. That's not true even for most of Burke's games this year.
March 10th, 2012 at 11:58 AM ^
March 10th, 2012 at 12:06 PM ^
The fact that this thread exists is an absolute absurdity. There is no comparison. Iverson, for all his faults, was one of the greatest scorers to ever play in the NBA. I love Trey, but he's not Iverson. That is all.
March 10th, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
NOT EVEN CLOSE
NSFW lyrics, so mute.
A.I was electric... you knew he was the best player as soon as the ball was tipped. He was so explosive. I think Burke is stronger just because of his build, he is put together pretty solid. A NBA PG that compares to Burke pretty good would be Jameer Nelson, and college would be Jordan Taylor. You can't be mad at either of those... but dont say AI again
March 10th, 2012 at 12:27 PM ^
Iverson was one of the most inefficient players in the history of the NBA. In his prime he regularly took 25 shots a game at an abysmal 40-42% clip, not to mention the 4 TOs he averaged. People tend to think he's better than he was, because he scored a lot of points (through sheer volume of shot attempts) and looked good while doing it.
March 10th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^
Dont see it at all... Trey reminds me of Tony Parker in so many ways but hes built like a bull dog.. very similar to Raymond Felton but he plays like Tony Parker
AI... has always been selfish with the ball... its kind of a horrible comparison... Trey is a good athlete with the ball in his hands but no where on the same level as AI... When looking at Trey's freshman year it reminds me a lot of Chris Paul when he first devleoped at Wake Forest than AI at Georgetown...
I cant believe this silly comparison came up again. Terrible thread.
Some of you guys are ridiculous.
Point blank, argue about his character all you want. Argue about him being a team player all you want.
But some of you saying he's overrated or he wasn't good? Are you kidding me?!
Iverson is one of the greatest single players, EVER. Period. That is undeniable. Few could play the game of basketball the way A.I. could. Don't let all the other stuff distract you from that fact.
So again, the other stuff, very debateable...and A.I. brought that on himself. But you don't lead your team to the finals. You don't win multiple MVPs. You don't do what he did over the course of his career without being an outstanding player.
STOP HATING.
No doubt Iverson is one of the most talented players in NBA history. Question will always be is a player like Burke more valuable by what he brings to he team as a whole - does he make you more likely to win a championship but elevating everyone around him.