Big East Basketball: Villanova’s transfer run continues with Tyler Burton
By John Makuch
Villanova continues to impress this offseason after picking up former Richmond forward Tyler Burton.
Burton has originally put his name in for the NBA Draft but has forgone that to play his fifth and final season of college basketball with Kyle Neptune and the Wildcats of Villanova.
He announced his decision on the final day of May as the transfer portal continues to bring about news such as this for Big East squads.
With that being said, I'm extremely excited to announce l'Il be attending Villanova University for my final year of eligibility. Go Cats!! 😼 pic.twitter.com/qG5iy0zqRv
— tyler burton (@Tyler_Burton1) May 31, 2023
Villanova themselves have already hit the portal hard with Lance Ware coming from Kentucky, Hakim Hart from Maryland, TJ Bamba from Washington State, and now Burton.
He played four seasons for the Spiders, with his scoring output exploding this year to 19 points per game along with 7.4 rebounds.
Burton is a player who can attack the basket, whether through slashing or taking it with the ball himself.
While his three-point shooting fell just under 30 percent this year, he has the ability to knock down open looks when he is relied upon.
A huge part of Burton’s overall improvement is his defensive ability, with his size he can guard most positions and his steal numbers went up to 1.5 per game. With every possession crucial in the Big East Conference, having a guy that can create opportunities through his defense is key to have.
There may be an adjustment to the physicality of the Big East Conference, but Burton has the experience and the tools to make that quite the quick adjustment.
Villanova taking on Providence this year will also get interesting, with Kim English coming from A-10 opponent George Mason.
Burton’s squad lost to them in the second round of the conference tournament, but he was able to put up 23 points six rebounds, and two steals in that effort, going 11-11 from the free throw line.
He fits into this lineup quite nicely and should see significant minutes with Justin Moore, the new transfers, and this very experienced Villanova unit.
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The Wildcats may just be winners of the transfer portal this offseason, now it is up to coach Neptune to put it all together.