INDIANAPOLIS — It’s impossible to see Brayden Burries, but he’s in there somewhere.
The Arizona freshman is the main attraction in the crowded Arizona locker room as it goes through its open media session ahead of its Final Four matchup with Michigan, and he should be. Burries leads Arizona with his 16.1 points per game and has firmly established himself as one of the country’s best freshmen in a class loaded with stars — and most of those stars are no longer playing college basketball while Burries is competing for a national championship.
As a result, Burries is loaded down with a number of obligations and the attention that comes with his rapid rise to stardom. The stage could be overwhelming to some, but Burries doesn’t appear to be breaking a sweat.
“It’s a part of the process,” Burries says. “I’m just thankful, just blessed. It’s a blessing to have everyone still here. It’s a blessing to continue to win.”
This winning thing isn’t all that unfamiliar to Burries and this Arizona team, and they’ve got his seemingly unchanging demeanor to thank. Burries has eclipsed double figures in all but one game on Arizona’s push to the Final Four, including 23 points in its Sweet Sixteen win over Arkansas.
That type of performance is more the standard than an outlier for him these days. Burries has scored in double figures in 10 of Arizona’s last 11 games and has eclipsed the 20-point mark five times in that stretch. The Arizona guard is nationally ranked in seven KenPom efficiency categories–namely offensive rating and true shooting percentage, in which he’s ranked No. 127 and No. 118 in the nation, respectively.
Every time Burries has fallen short of the 10-point mark in league play, he’s bounced back with a performance that demonstrates why he’s still a go-to option for this dominant Arizona team. Burries was held to just three points against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament, but he rebounded with a 21-point performance in the league title game. What it took to put on that performance was a microcosm of the mental fortitude that Burries has needed to get here. “He’s way above his years,” Arizona wing Anthony Dell’Orso tells HoopsHQ. “(He) plays like he’s, you know, maybe junior and senior, something like that. Obviously, Super talented, hard nosed, you know, plays physical, crazy athlete. But yeah, a good kid first off, fun to be around, coachable, doesn’t let anything get to his head.”
That also applies to Burries’ on-floor activity. The Arizona freshman is fearless, rarely sped up and is remarkably efficient for a freshman wing in the Big 12. In a way, all of the traits he demonstrates while donning an Arizona shirt and a cross necklace and sitting at his locker on the back wall in Lucas Oil Stadium have some sort of correlation to his production.
If there was any room to get into Burries’ frame of mind, it would’ve been taken by now. Throngs of media follow the Arizona star wherever he goes. He was asked about rumors regarding Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd on Thursday. He’s gone through the ups and downs of a college season, too. Stardom has never evaded him, though.
“He’s really turned it on,” Arizona guard Jaden Bradley says. “Just his confidence and the attention that he brings opens everybody else up. He’s getting double-teamed, getting trapped. Now, he’s just making the right plays. He’s always making the right read. He’s calm, he’s composed, and I’m excited for his journey.”
Burries’ NBA future is a near-inevitability at this point. He is a consensus lottery pick in NBA mock drafts and is a projected top-10 pick in a number of them. But Burries doesn’t appear to be in a rush to shake Adam Silver’s hand and put on a hat with an NBA logo on it.
If there’s anything that Burries avoided while manning the figurative podium on Thursday, it was getting ahead of himself. Burries’ demeanor is steady, and he’s leaning into that.
“I feel like we just try to keep it simple,” Burries says. “The more we win, the more we get to be with each other. And that’s the best thing about it is just being with each other. After this, everybody’s going to go their own way, separate ways and we’re not going to be able to ever play a game together again. So we’re just having fun with it.”
Meet your guide
