NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of West Virginia of last decade

6. C. J. Burks – Marshall

This 6’4 guard from Martinsburg is another West Virginia athlete who found success staying in his home state. Burks was a solid player in high school but redshirted his first of five seasons at Marshall. He’d be a full-time player the next four seasons, developing into one of the league’s top offensive players during his upperclassman years.

Burks played the sixth-man role in his first two seasons, earning limited starts but playing decent minutes while averaging around 9 points per game both seasons. He exploded onto the scene as a full-time starter as a junior, averaging 20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. That season, Marshall returned to the NCAA Tournament and upset Wichita State in the first round, with Burks providing 13 points in the upset. The Thundering Herd had another fine season during his senior year, as Burks averaged 17.7 points per game on a 23-win squad.

Burks was named All-CUSA for both of those final seasons, earning Second Team honors as a junior. He led the conference in field goals in each of those years and played an important role in Marshall’s postseason breakthrough in 2018. He really blossomed in that highly-utilized role late in his career and has been one of Marshall’s finest players in the last decade. His career continued overseas, with some time spent over in Iceland.