IU guard Markus Burton was one of the program’s biggest signings this spring out of the transfer portal. A native of Mishawaka, Burton was the 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball out of Penn before signing with Notre Dame.
Over three seasons with the Fighting Irish, Burton averaged 19.1 points, 3.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.
Burton was one of three players who spoke to the media on Thursday – watch the full interview here – and we also took a closer look at him in our transfer portal spotlight series in May.
Here’s a full transcript of Burton’s quotes from Thursday’s media session in the locker room at Assembly Hall:
On who Markus Burton is:
“Markus Burton is a dog, he’s an everyday guy and he’s gonna get you a bucket.”
On the biggest takeaways from the workouts so far this month:
“The biggest takeaway for me is, you see a smile every day. Somebody’s smiling every day. There’s always great vibes, everybody’s coming in, everyone’s laughing, it’s just a family.
“You can’t ask for anything better than that.”
On if that was something he didn’t have before:
“Obviously at Notre Dame, it was a great time, great people there, but here, it’s just the energy. The energy is different, everybody’s pumped up, everybody’s ready to go, everybody’s ready to compete. So I mean, it’s just gonna be a good one.”
On if he would agree that he will play at the pace that he wants and that nobody defensively will change that:
“Oh, yeah. I mean, like you said, you saw me today. This been me. That’s just me. That’s gonna be me every single day. That’s who you guys gonna see in the game. That’s who you guys gonna see out in Assembly, so yeah.”
On being able to balance scoring versus playmaking for others:
“Just reading the game, playing the game, taking what the defense gives you, not overthinking it, playing off your skills. So if I’m a scorer, score the ball, but if they stop you, then that’s the time to find teammates. But it’s very easy to balance it once you know what you’re doing and once you pick your spots, you know who to get involved and stuff like that.”
On what it will be like operating in ball screens with Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu:
“It’s gonna be fun. It’s definitely gonna be fun with those two guys. Big Aiden is a great player, and I’m really excited for people to see who he really is and show his game out there.
“Big Samet is strong. He’s gonna be a great, great aspect for us and for our team. So it’s just gonna be a great show, man. I’m excited. I love my teammates and yeah.”
On what stands about Darian DeVries:
“Great guy. Never had a bad day. Never seen him have a bad day yet.”
On the things that he does well that will impact winning:
“Just being a dog, man. Like I said before, just being a hard-nosed dog. Obviously, I know I’m not the biggest, I’m not the strongest, so I gotta find a knack to stay on the court and help my teammates win and I feel like me just being a dog and just being tenacious and just having fun with it and I feel like nobody can stop me, so that’s just that.”
On the group and his thoughts on the first few weeks:
“Love the group. Great guys. Competitive. Love playing with them. Love our coaching staff and I feel like it’s gonna be a great run.”
On what stands out about Darren Harris and Jaeden Mustaf:
“Darren, great shooter. Obviously, I’m pretty sure a lot of people know that. But he’s just a great guy, man. Like I said, we got a lot of great guys outside of just basketball.
“And Jaden is just the freakiest athlete. I’ve never seen anything like it. I can’t wait to really get started with those guys.”
On how important having great people in the program is to winning:
“It goes a long way, man, because obviously you need great guys in your life. You need great guys on your team because when things go bad, where are those great guys at? What happens when things go wrong? What happens when things go good?
“So you need guys like that just to stay with each other and just stay true to each other and just have fun with it. Say if something goes bad, we can lean on each other, for instance. So I feel like that’s what we have.
On if there’s something people haven’t seen that’s in Aiden Sherrell’s game:
“That’s not for me to say. That’s for the people to see themselves. That’s for Aiden to speak for himself and show his game.
“But like I said, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen what he can do. I’ve been here for a long time now. Like I said, that’s just something I said. Like I said, he’s going to show a lot of people what he can do.”
On whether he plays with a chip on his shoulder:
“Yes, sir. I believe it’s true. Like I said before, I’m not the biggest guy out there, and obviously a lot of people are going to see that, and that’s something they’re going to run with and say: He’s not the biggest.
“I have to have some sort of chip on my shoulder to keep going and keep me level-headed but also keep me competitive. So obviously, yeah, I’m going to have a chip on my shoulder. I want to win. I want to get IU basketball to where it’s been at and I feel like I can do that.”
On the important thing for a point guard to do on a consistent basis:
“Being an everyday guy. Coming in, you have to be happy. You have to be in a good mood. You can’t have any bad days. It can’t be all about you. It has to be about the team. That’s how I see it.”
On what it means to have a chance to be a part of the group to get IU back to where it has been in the past:
“It means a lot, and obviously it’s going to take steps. It’s going to be a process to it. There’s going to be days where we don’t want to come out and practice, but like I said, it’s a process.
“There’s going to be good days. There’s going to be bad days, but like I said, it’s a process. You’ve got to enjoy the process, have fun with it and continue to keep getting better and stay humble and fight.”
On what stood out about Darian DeVries and made him want to play for him:
“Everything, obviously. Like I said, I’ve been knowing Coach DeVries for a very long time and it’s just the trust that he’s seen in me and he believed in me. Just when a coach trusts you and believes in you to lead his team, that means a lot and that shows who he really is as a person.”
“So, I can’t wait to play for him.”
On what IU can take from the upcoming Peru trip:
“Just going out there and having fun. Obviously, like you said, there’s no win-lose situation there. I mean, obviously we have to win.
“Obviously, people want us to win, but this is just a chance for us just to get out and finally get to play with each other. Obviously, this is a new team, a lot of transfers, we’ve got a lot of freshmen. So, this is the time for us just to get out, play with each other, play with refs, play against somebody different other than us, just to see where we’re at. But I can’t wait to get down there and just play.”
On Prince-Alexander Moody:
“I’ve been playing with him for weeks now. I know what he can do. I know the coaching staff knows what he can do. Our teammates know what he can do. He’s a very confident basketball player and a great basketball player. But also, I realize he’s a great guy, too.”
(Photo credit: Markus Burton on Instagram)
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