Charles Burns: Like Father, Like Son

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.

THE DEFENSIVE STOPPER Looks to Make Immediate Impact

BY STAYSON ISOBE

It took just six seconds for Jay Green to display the type of impact he can have on a game.

The date is Feb. 22, 2020 and UNLV is clinging to a four-point lead against No. 4 San Diego State on the road with just over a minute remaining on the clock. Green, then a member of the Runnin’ Rebels, switches onto San Diego State’s Malachi Flynn at the top of the key.

Flynn, an eventual All-American and the 2019-20 Mountain West Player of the Year, dribbles to his right before crossing over to his left, yet he’s unable to shake Green, who stonewalls Flynn into a turnover. UNLV winds up holding on for a 66-63 victory, handing San Diego State its first loss of the season.

“(Flynn) was a great player and a huge focus on the scouting report,” Green said. “We had a lot of respect for him going into the game. At that point of the game, I didn’t want to foul and I didn’t want to give up an easy bucket. I got put on an island with him and just had to play one-on-one and we ended up getting the stop.”

Two months later, Green would transfer to Northern Arizona. Despite playing only 11 minutes off the bench – and not scoring a point nor attempting a shot from the field – in the upset of the Aztecs, it was his defensive play late that stands out.

It is that defensive mentality that has Northern Arizona men’s basketball head coach Shane Burcar excited about the team’s graduate transfer, who has two years of eligibility remaining.

“He’ll guard (our opponent’s) best scoring guard,” Burcar said. “With his size and strength, I don’t know if you’re going to see that in the Big Sky night in and night out. I think he has a legitimate chance to be a Player of the Year defensively. If we need to limit someone’s shots, Jay will do that. He’s up for that challenge.”

Green’s move from Las Vegas to Flagstaff marks a return to the state of Arizona. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Green moved to Arizona prior to his senior year in high school when his father got a job opportunity.

Upon arrival in the states, Green enrolled at Mountain Ridge High School, where he averaged 24 points per game and earned Division I All-State

Second Team and All-Region First Team honors. It was during that season that Burcar was first familiarized with Green, who scored 23 points in a victory against Burcar’s Mesa High School team.

“I knew Jay a little bit from Mountain Ridge High School and competing against him,” Burcar said. “I liked his demeanor, even as a 17, 18-year old senior. When his name came up in the transfer portal, I talked to his head coach at UNLV – a good friend of mine – Coach (T.J.) Otzelberger and he had nothing but great things to say about Jay.”

Although Green was a driving force behind Mountain Ridge’s Division I state tournament appearance in 2016, an ankle injury late in his senior year put his college plans on hold. Instead, he took a post-grad year at Phoenix’s prep powerhouse Hillcrest Prep where he posted a second consecutive strong season with averages of 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game.

Green parlayed that season into a commitment to UNLV, where he appeared in 15 games as a true freshman on the Runnin’ Rebels’ 20-win team in 2017-18.

After playing just 4.1 minutes per contest in his initial season at UNLV, Green wound up redshirting the following season. The redshirt season was necessary according to Green, who notes that the pace and the athleticism of the game in America was a contrast to the game he was accustomed to in Australia.

“Everyone was so athletic over here,” Green said. “Australia plays more like a European style – slower and a lot more fundamental. But here, I loved playing in transition. I tested the waters my freshman year (at UNLV) and got a feel for where I was at. I got a gauge for what I needed to work on and used that redshirt year to get where I wanted to be.”

The year to develop also proved to be crucial as UNLV’s coaching staff turned over to Otzelberger ahead of the 2019-20 season. After seeing limited minutes, once again, throughout most of last season, Green carved out a role down the stretch around his trademark defensive skillset.

“I just wanted to find a role,” Green said. “The easiest way to do that was defensively, so I started to try to brand myself as a defensive stopper on that team. It was a need that we had and I just tried to fill that gap as best I could. We were winning games and I was happy.” In UNLV’s final six games – a stretch that included the road win against San Diego State – Green averaged 15.8 minutes per game as the Runnin’ Rebels compiled a 5-1 record. Still, Green took just four shots from the deck and scored seven points during that six-game stretch, which only amplified his impact on the other end of the court.

The oldest son of parents who both played professionally in Australia, Green grew up around the sport. It was at his earliest stages of learning the game that Green learned the defensive fundamentals that have fueled his way to NAU.

“I was taught the fundamentals at a young age and (defense is something) that over time, you get better at,” Green said. “The more film you watch, the more games you play, it’s something you naturally get better. There’s definitely an intentional side to it where you do need to put in the work to see results.”

Now a Lumberjack, and just one of five upperclassmen on this year’s roster, Green has already made an impact in the gym with the hope that his perimeter defense will bolster an NAU team that was middle of the pack of the Big Sky last season in scoring defense, field goal defense and three-point defense during conference play.

“Jay has made an immediate impact,” Burcar said. “We told him ‘you’re not coming here to feel everybody out.’ We wanted his presence known immediately and he has done that in a positive way. He leads by example because of his work ethic and he’s being vocal with the guys and I couldn’t be happier with the addition of Jay to the program.”

Green’s hallmark may always be on the defensive end, but early preseason indications could be a sign of an all-around game that might thrust the 6-5 redshirt junior guard into the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year conversation come the end of the season.

Working tirelessly on his three-point shooting, a trait he exhibited in high school, Green’s offensive contributions may just be scratching the surface.

“We want to win games and I’m going to help do that in any way I can,” Green said. “Obviously I’ve come in branded as a defensive player, but offensively I think I will be just as much of a problem. I think I can help get a lot of guys open with good shots by passing and shooting is something I’ve really worked on here. Offensively, I think I’ll be able to help the team win games as well.”

“We want Jay to be Jay Green and play with that confidence,” Burcar added. “That’s not to say he didn’t (at UNLV), but he has a bigger role here and he can use his skills that he’s been working on since he learned the game.”

Whether Green is tasked with making a game-winning defensive stop or knocking down a game-winner, it won’t take Lumberjack fans long to notice him on the court.

In fact, it could just take a few seconds.

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