Tracy Village Jets junior Will Burton makes instant impression at Mildura Heat in Big V, picked up after coach Calvin Henry saw a stunning clip of him on Facebook
AS the saying goes in sport and in life – if you work hard you make your own luck. And that was exactly what happened to former Tracy Village star guard Will Burton, with a Facebook video of his silky skills getting him a spot on a Big V roster. And he’s made an instant impression.
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AS the saying goes in sport and in life – if you work hard you make your own luck.
And that was exactly what happened to former Tracy Village star guard Will Burton.
The 18-year-old – who averaged 16.58 points per game for last year’s DBA Championship runners-up the Jets – has made an instant impression for Mildura Heat at Division 2 level in the Big V.
The natural shooting guard, who is now embracing a point guard role for the regional north-western Victorian city, scored 20 points on debut, hitting four from seven three-pointers.
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Burton’s contribution helped Mildura to a 93-71 win over Craigieburn in front of a big home crowd.
And it all came about after Burton posted a video of himself excelling for the Jets at DBA Championship level on Facebook – knocking down three-pointers from all over the court, driving and laying up and coming up with plenty of assists.
Darwin man and now a player agent in Melbourne, Reece Hamriding – who runs Hamriding Sports Management – saw the video and quickly put Burton in touch with Heat Division 2 player-coach Calvin Henry.
Henry was looking to fill a vacant point guard spot on his roster, and he’s been instantly impressed with Burton’s willingness to embrace more of a playmaker role.
“Calvin reached out to me and said he was after a point guard for this season. I said ‘I’ll see what’s around’, then thought ‘I’ll see what Will is up to’,” Hamriding said.
“I sent him the video of Will in action and Calvin said ‘let’s do it’.” Burton has embraced the spotlight which comes with being a star athlete in a small regional city.
“I was really happy with my debut. I wasn’t expecting to play that well, but I did,” he told the Sunday Territorian, his Heat team with a 2-2 record going into the Easter weekend break.
“The crowd got me up and going. They go wild whenever we do well.
“Pretty much everyone in Mildura know the players on this team, and I love the people down here. I’m always around my teammates and I really enjoy that.
“Jason Ah Sam coached me from under-14s to 18s (at Tracy Village) and he really helped me get to where I am today.
“I’ve played basketball in Darwin my whole life, so I was really excited to leave Darwin and play in a different, harder competition and continue to develop my game.”
With Burton’s skill level, the sky is the limit for the young gun Jets product.
“Hopefully I can move onto an NBL1 team next year,” he said. “In Darwin I’d play more as a shooting guard – I’d get to open spots on the court and I was probably averaging four three-pointers a game.”
His work ethic and attitude to want to learn can also help him get a spot on an NBL1 roster by 2022.
“Calvin is a really good player-coach and he’s encouraging me to keep pressuring the ball around the court. I’m enjoying that,” Burton said.
“Now I’m learning more of a playmaking role. I shoot a lot every day – three-pointers and mid-range shots. And the great thing is I’ve got access to our stadium 24 hours a day.
“So even if I want to practise at midnight I can do that.”
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