Wichita State transfer and new Texas Tech addition Jamarius Burton talked to Aaron Dickens and Chris Level about his decision to joining the Red Raiders.
I can’t imagine, normally the recruiting process with your high school or a transfer is stressful enough. I can’t imagine how much the pandemic stuff has added to that. How difficult was this process not being able to visit any of these coaches or any of these campuses?
“It was very difficult considering I couldn’t come and visit the university and the coaches in person. But through my film study and me talking to players that been through the program, I was confident in picking Texas Tech.”
Take me through your conversations with coach Beard about some of the past experiences, and with the other coaches, I think you dealt with a lot. Just kind of take me through conversations with those guys. What bridged the gap, what made you feel comfortable there?
“Both of them mentioned the success that they have with transfers, especially at my size and as big four and playing the guard position. He talked about my time at Wichita State and what he saw I can improve on and their vision for me. So, after talking to them about my future for me, as seeing the program’s success was undeniable, and it made me very confident then picking Texas Tech.”
Did they not mention to you Matt Mooney as like some comparisons there? Obviously, Matt played here last year, was a transfer and played in the national championship game this last year. Is that right?
“Yeah, that’s the player they mentioned to me. Ever since they mentioned him to me, I started watching film. So, I studied him. I’ve seen every time he made a basket how he made the basket and on the defensive end. So, he kind of made it easier for me to envision myself in that system.
Jamarius, the timetable here is interesting because everything is kind of shut down and we don’t know when it’ll open back up and all those kind of things. What have they told you about when you might be able to get to campus?
"They said they’re going to operate, like we can come on campus during the June session, but if not, then they would come up with a plan with me either way, as far as doing stuff here on or campus. So, right now, we’re just trying to figure it out, but we’re going to take the necessary steps. We’ll go forward."
Jamarius, take us through, you know — sit out a year, play two years – is that the plan and the setup right now? Kind of take me through that part.
“Yeah, that’s the ultimate goal to development as much as I can before the next time I play on the court. So, whatever time frame that is, I’m going to respect it and be ready to put in the work.”
And along those lines, I’m sure they’ve mentioned to you while Matt Mooney was a grad transfer, I’m sure they’ve mentioned to you guys like Brandone Francis, guys like Tommy Hamilton, some guys that helped to get to the Elite Eight and the Final Four were guys that sat out a year and developed and worked on individual skills, got to the weight room under John Reilly. I’m sure that was part of your being intrigued to this program as well.
“Yes, it very much was. I’ve talked to some guys that sat out this year also. I was very familiar with the sit-out year and how that works out and how guys are getting better throughout their time sitting out. So, I was very confident with my decision to come there while I sit out, I’ll be developed and being able to grow as a player and as a man.
So, what was this recruiting process like for you with Texas Tech and the other programs that were involved? Was it just a bunch of FaceTime calls and Zoom’s? Did they take you on virtual tours of their facilities?
“Yeah, it was a combination of all of those: Zoom, FaceTime, text messages. I got a lot of videos sent to my email so I could watch them. So, they did as much as they could considering the fact that I couldn’t visit, and I just sat down late nights and just watched videos constantly and started envisioning myself, and I envisioned myself at Texas Tech.”
Well, if they see you as a Matt Mooney-type guy, that’s a very big compliment. He was just the one year, he was funny fun to watch, and he got so much better as the year went along. I know that they were high-fiving around there earlier today after your decision. So, take us through your time at Wichita State. What did you learn from your time there under coach Marshall, and then kind of why… just kind of take us through that decision to kind move on and maybe play at a Power-Five league.
“For me, my issue wasn’t playing time. I just felt like Texas Tech gives me a greater opportunity to grow and chase my goals as a player. And at Wichita State, I was very grateful for my time there. I felt like I developed tremendously from year-one to year-two with my jumpshot, and that coaching staff did a great job helping me learn how to defend at this college level, compete at this college level. So, I’m very thankful for my time there.
So, when you did decide you maybe wanted to explore your options and potentially play somewhere else, was Texas Tech a program that was kind of at the forefront of your thought process or did you wait until you heard from them until the beginning to set it up?
“Yeah, it was the more when I heard from them when I became familiar with the program. When I put my name in the portal, I didn’t know who would hit me up. I didn’t expect the amount of traffic that I got, but I am grateful for that, and I’m glad that Texas Tech was in the mix and I was able to achieve stuff.”
I can’t imagine, normally the recruiting process with your high school or a transfer is stressful enough. I can’t imagine how much the pandemic stuff has added to that. How difficult was this process not being able to visit any of these coaches or any of these campuses?
“It was very difficult considering I couldn’t come and visit the university and the coaches in person. But through my film study and me talking to players that been through the program, I was confident in picking Texas Tech.”
Take me through your conversations with coach Beard about some of the past experiences, and with the other coaches, I think you dealt with a lot. Just kind of take me through conversations with those guys. What bridged the gap, what made you feel comfortable there?
“Both of them mentioned the success that they have with transfers, especially at my size and as big four and playing the guard position. He talked about my time at Wichita State and what he saw I can improve on and their vision for me. So, after talking to them about my future for me, as seeing the program’s success was undeniable, and it made me very confident then picking Texas Tech.”
Did they not mention to you Matt Mooney as like some comparisons there? Obviously, Matt played here last year, was a transfer and played in the national championship game this last year. Is that right?
“Yeah, that’s the player they mentioned to me. Ever since they mentioned him to me, I started watching film. So, I studied him. I’ve seen every time he made a basket how he made the basket and on the defensive end. So, he kind of made it easier for me to envision myself in that system.
Jamarius, the timetable here is interesting because everything is kind of shut down and we don’t know when it’ll open back up and all those kind of things. What have they told you about when you might be able to get to campus?
"They said they’re going to operate, like we can come on campus during the June session, but if not, then they would come up with a plan with me either way, as far as doing stuff here on or campus. So, right now, we’re just trying to figure it out, but we’re going to take the necessary steps. We’ll go forward."
Jamarius, take us through, you know — sit out a year, play two years – is that the plan and the setup right now? Kind of take me through that part.
“Yeah, that’s the ultimate goal to development as much as I can before the next time I play on the court. So, whatever time frame that is, I’m going to respect it and be ready to put in the work.”
And along those lines, I’m sure they’ve mentioned to you while Matt Mooney was a grad transfer, I’m sure they’ve mentioned to you guys like Brandone Francis, guys like Tommy Hamilton, some guys that helped to get to the Elite Eight and the Final Four were guys that sat out a year and developed and worked on individual skills, got to the weight room under John Reilly. I’m sure that was part of your being intrigued to this program as well.
“Yes, it very much was. I’ve talked to some guys that sat out this year also. I was very familiar with the sit-out year and how that works out and how guys are getting better throughout their time sitting out. So, I was very confident with my decision to come there while I sit out, I’ll be developed and being able to grow as a player and as a man.
So, what was this recruiting process like for you with Texas Tech and the other programs that were involved? Was it just a bunch of FaceTime calls and Zoom’s? Did they take you on virtual tours of their facilities?
“Yeah, it was a combination of all of those: Zoom, FaceTime, text messages. I got a lot of videos sent to my email so I could watch them. So, they did as much as they could considering the fact that I couldn’t visit, and I just sat down late nights and just watched videos constantly and started envisioning myself, and I envisioned myself at Texas Tech.”
Well, if they see you as a Matt Mooney-type guy, that’s a very big compliment. He was just the one year, he was funny fun to watch, and he got so much better as the year went along. I know that they were high-fiving around there earlier today after your decision. So, take us through your time at Wichita State. What did you learn from your time there under coach Marshall, and then kind of why… just kind of take us through that decision to kind move on and maybe play at a Power-Five league.
“For me, my issue wasn’t playing time. I just felt like Texas Tech gives me a greater opportunity to grow and chase my goals as a player. And at Wichita State, I was very grateful for my time there. I felt like I developed tremendously from year-one to year-two with my jumpshot, and that coaching staff did a great job helping me learn how to defend at this college level, compete at this college level. So, I’m very thankful for my time there.
So, when you did decide you maybe wanted to explore your options and potentially play somewhere else, was Texas Tech a program that was kind of at the forefront of your thought process or did you wait until you heard from them until the beginning to set it up?
“Yeah, it was the more when I heard from them when I became familiar with the program. When I put my name in the portal, I didn’t know who would hit me up. I didn’t expect the amount of traffic that I got, but I am grateful for that, and I’m glad that Texas Tech was in the mix and I was able to achieve stuff.”
