What more can Marcus Burton do for Notre Dame men's basketball? How about less?

SOUTH BEND — It reached a point in spring when Notre Dame men’s basketball sophomore point guard Markus Burton wanted nothing to do with something that means everything.

That’s what happens after a season in which Burton led the Irish in scoring (17.5 ppg.), assists (4.3), steals (1.9), minutes (1133.44/33.7) and starts (33). That’s what happens when he started his college career with a bang (a cool 29 points in your first game), and kept finding ways game after game and month after month to wow everyone.

Come March in Washington, when everything ended for the Irish in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament with a loss to Wake Forest, you could see how long the journey was for Burton. His shoulder sagged. He talked in tired tones. He carried himself like every step across the basketball court might be his last before he just collapsed, curled up and slept.

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Only after the end of his first season, one where Burton become the first Irish in program history to earn ACC rookie of the year, could the rest and recovery begin. The first step was getting away from the game — practicing it, talking about it, thinking about it. Everything. Just turn it all off. Click.

For something that had long been love, Burton and basketball were just friends.

“I took a few weeks off, just hung out with family, did other things besides basketball,” Burton said in July when he looked fresher and stronger and, honestly, more energetic than he did when we last saw him on a court. “It probably took me a month and a half (to recover).”

Burton then returned to his basketball ways. There were times in June and July when Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry found himself in his office late at night for some reason. He doesn’t have many (any) hobbies, except for doing something basketball-related, which is what would keep him at Rolfs Hall until he was the last to turn the lights out.

Or so he thought.

On his way out, Shrewsberry often noticed the lights on the practice court. They were still on. Down there would be Burton on the court. Working on his game. Talking shots. Making shots. Dreaming the kind of dreams that he had dreamed when he had no idea what big-time college basketball had in store for him, but then delivered.

“A lot of times when I was leaving, he was in here,” Shrewsberry said. “He’s spent a lot of time in this gym, and you see it in how he’s playing.”

Being denied an invitation to the NBA draft combine in May didn’t drive Burton back to the gym this offseason. Being better did.

“I obviously get bored, so I’d come in and get shots up, work on my game,” he said. “I just really enjoy being in the gym when no one’s here. I enjoy being in the gym all the time.”

Burton did so much last season in getting Notre Dame to 13 overall wins and seven in the league  that many figure it’s going to be more of the same as a sophomore. More big plays. More points. More assists. More minutes. More from a guy who danced a quick dance this offseason with the NBA before (wisely) deciding that he’s at ls best at the collegiate level.

More.

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Is there any established sophomore anywhere in the country better than Burton? Not likely.

For Notre Dame to do more this season, Burton can do less. He doesn’t have to score as many points. He doesn’t have to be the main facilitator. He doesn’t have to play so many minutes. He’ll still start. He’ll still have the ball in hands a bunch. There’s more than enough spotlight in 2024-25 to go around. It doesn’t always have to be solely on No. 3. Know who likes that idea best?

Number 3.

Sitting with the media for 10 minutes in July, Burton rattled off several names that he believes will be key contributors this season — Princeton guard Matt Allocco, swingman Tae Davis, Monmouth transfer big Nikita Konstantynovskyi. Freshmen Cole Certa and Sir Mohammed.

“They all know the game,” Burton said. “I can trust those guys. Our team this year is extremely better.”

Pressed to offer some details on the feedback he received from his brief NBA dance, Burton said he’d rather keep intel to himself. It’s no secret that whoever he reached out to — or reached out to him — wants Burton to be more of a point guard first and second rather than the scoring point guard role he played last season.

Be more of a vocal leader. Be more unselfish. Cut down on the turnovers. Be a better lead guard.

“He’s been really efficient offensively,” Shrewsberry said. “It’s standing out even more with the guys he’s playing with.”

Currently on a foreign tour of Spain with Notre Dame, Burton better gets his teammates, and they better get him. They know his game. They know where to be. Everybody and everything fits.

Last August, Burton approached his first college season with a sense of uneasiness. He didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t know how to handle all he would have to handle. This August, he knows the drill. He’s a college veteran, even as a sophomore. He’s a good college guard.

“I’ve heard a lot of things; I’ve seen a lot,” Burton said. “I’ve gained a lot. Going into the season, I’ll be ready.”

To rest in April.

Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on Twitter: @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: What more can Marcus Burton do for Notre Dame men's basketball? How about less?