CUSA Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

By Joey Loose | Jul 19, 2023

Mar 19, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; North Texas Mean Green guard James Reese (0) celebrates with guard Mardrez McBride (1) and guard Javion Hamlet (3) during overtime against the Purdue Boilermakers in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

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CUSA Basketball Marshall Thundering Herd guard C.J. Burks Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

23. C. J. Burks

Burks is a 6’4 combo guard from Martinsburg, West Virginia who stayed in his home state to play college ball at Marshall. Between 2015 and 2019 he was along for the ride of a very successful era for the Thundering Herd, turning into a major contributor during his upperclassman seasons.

For his first two seasons, Burks came off the bench, but he played a decent amount of minutes in the backcourt, averaging just under 10 points a game in both seasons. He took a major step forward as a junior, putting up 20.1 points per game and helping lead Marshall to the CUSA Tournament title. Burks had a decent performance in their upset win over Wichita State a few days later in the NCAA Tournament. Senior year was another fantastic offense year, with similar numbers across the board.

Burks came just shy of 2000 career points but did lead the CUSA in field goals in each of those final two seasons. He earned All-CUSA honors in both years and transformed from key bench weapon to impressive scorer in the league. During his four seasons on campus, Marshall won 85 games and Burks certainly had a hand in that success, especially on the offensive end.