Burrell Hired As Assistant Coach
by Zach Smart
The latest addition to the Quinnipiac men’s basketball coaching staff comes with much excitement – and a bit of fanfare as well.
Scott Burrell, a former NBA player and the first American athlete to be selected in the first round of both the NBA and MLB drafts, was hired as an assistant to head coach Tom Moore. Burrell arrived on campus in a Lexus this week and got acclimated to a new situation. Players who are enrolled in Summer Session I are currently holding everyday conditioning workouts and scrimmages at the TD Banknorth Sports Center with Moore and the rest of the coaching staff.
“I’m really excited to have Scott join us as we start to build a program,” explained Moore, who was hired in April after serving 13 years under Jim Calhoun at UConn, the last two as the Huskies’ associate head coach.
“He has tremendous experience as both a college player at UConn and in the NBA, where he was a world champion with the Chicago Bulls. He also has a great reputation in Hamden as a high school star.”
The Hamden-bred Burrell spent eight seasons in the NBA. His career featured stints with the Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, New Jersey Nets, and Chicago Bulls – where he won an NBA championship alongside Michael Jordan in 1998. Burrell enjoyed his best season during his second year with the Hornets in 1994-95, when he averaged 11.5 points as a fixture in the starting lineup. That season, Burrell emerged as a candidate for the NBA’s most improved player.
Burrell had a storied career at Hamden High, where he starred as a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. Burrell was drafted by the Seattle Mariners during his senior year of high school, but opted to attend UConn to play basketball.
During his stay at Storrs, the 6-foot-7 Burrell emerged as the first NCAA player to score 1,500 points, register 750 rebounds, 300 steals and 275 assists. The Charlotte Hornets selected Burrell with the 20th pick of the 1993 NBA draft.
He’s the epitome of a hometown hero. After spending the last few years of his career overseas, the 36-year-old Burrell is home in Hamden, where much of his family still resides, and here to stay.
“I love teaching and I love teaching basketball,” said Burrell, who will likely spend much of his first year trying to sell top-flight recruits on Quinnipiac.
“I’m going to be able to help players both on and off the court. I can’t wait to get started.”
Burrell receives his first collegiate coaching gig after working as an assistant with the Colorado 14ers of NBA’s Developmental League last winter.
