Feature Story
CHARLES BURNS: Like Father, Like Son
BY CHAD PIPER
Everybody has a dream, but not everyone can live out those dreams. For Northern Arizona men’s basketball sophomore Charles Burns, it was only a matter of time before his dream turned into a reality. Raised in Lolo, Mont. – 10 miles from the University of Montana campus – Burns found his passion for the game of basketball when he was a little kid, but he grew up a lifelong NAU fan from the start. “I’ve lived in Missoula my entire life, but I have never ever worn any Montana Grizzlies stuff. I just can’t,” Burns said. He attended Loyola Sacred Heart High School, a private Roman Catholic school with only 42 students in his 2019 graduating class. Burns was a three-year varsity letterman on the basketball team and always dreamed of playing at the next level.
The first school that Burns ended up applying to was his dream school, Northern Arizona University, even though growing up, never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would have an opportunity to play at NAU. Burns had a couple of offers to play basketball at the NAIA level, but he continued to work hard because NAU was always a dream of his. Burns gets his love and passion for NAU from his father, Brian, who played for the Lumberjacks from 1996-99 and was part of the 1998 team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big Sky Championship. “When we were kids, we were the biggest fans of NAU Basketball,” Burns stated. Immediately after Burns found out that he was going to be accepted as a walk-on, he felt like his dream of playing for NAU Basketball was just getting underway. “He’s living his dream right now,” head coach Shane Burcar said. Before attending NAU, Burns talked about
how nervous he was to go to a new place where he knew nobody. So, he asked his father for advice on how to be a successful NAU basketball player and his dad kept it very simple with him, “effort on everything.” Burns knows his role is to bring energy and effort with him to every practice and every drill. “I’m not the most gifted athlete out there, but I know for a fact that no one’s going to outwork me on this drill,” Burns said. It is a great accomplishment for any basketball player to get a Division I opportunity, but for Burns, it means so much more to represent NAU across his chest every day. A selfless player who cares more about how the team is doing than himself, that is a trait that Burcar believes makes him an important member of the team. “Charles has no jealousy with his teammates and his will to be better every single day is what will bring him much success in sports and beyond,” Burcar said. Being a walk-on for a Division I program doesn’t just mean you are a part of the team. They have the same expectations as the starters and scholarship players. In recent years, NAU has seen walk-ons work their way up to earning a scholarship and play significant minutes for the team with current upperclassmen Luke Avdalovic and Nik Mains as examples. Of course, Burns would love to be in the starting lineup and has dreams of being an NAU Hall of Famer, but for him right now, he knows he just has to bring his heart and energy every day to help this program. “Right now my job is to bust Cameron Shelton every day to make him better,” Burns stated. “I’m here to make the guys above me better.” “Some walk-ons can actually hurt your team if they don’t know their role,” Burcar
added. That is not Burns, whose energy and passion that he brings for NAU Basketball is something that makes them better as a whole. A key moment from his freshman campaign was when NAU traveled to play Montana in Missoula last December. Watching so many games from the stands in that gym, it was a very surreal feeling for Burns to step onto that court. On the road, every player has the option to put two friends or family on the pass list. For that game, Burns’ teammates showed their appreciation for him by giving all of their tickets to him. Even with the extra tickets, Burns didn’t have enough tickets to give out. Even though Burns did not check into the game at Montana, that day with his friends and family everywhere in the stands was a dream come true and something he will never forget. “Just warming up in that gym wearing NAU, that was a dream come true,” Burns said. “Just to be on that court was awesome.” Only a sophomore, he knows that if he continues to work hard, his time will come. His belief in this program to make it back to the top of the Big Sky Conference behind Burcar is also definitely there. “There is so much trust and belief in what we are doing here, that you can feel it’s going to become real,” Burns said.
2020-21 NORTHERN ARIZONA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL YEARBOOK
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