The Sky's the Limit
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
Feb. 6, 1998
LIVERMORE -- The immense shoes -- yachts with laces, really -- temporarily steal the attention from their owner, D.J. Burton.
The soft-spoken Livermore High School freshman, whose Nikes practically need their own port, realizes this. What can he do?
So Burton sits quietly on a bench inside the boys locker room and allows his size 15 shoes to be scrutinized like museum pieces.
"When I was 11 or 12, it was pitiful. Every two weeks I'd change sizes," said Burton, now 15. "I skipped size 10 and went straight to 11. It's stopped now, thank goodness."
His 6-foot-4 frame, however, has not surrendered. As a result, Livermore coach Mike Tripp is grooming this gentle giant whom a family doctor once predicted might reach 7 feet tall for eventual prep stardom.
Whether he gets there is quite another issue. But Burton finds himself in an awkward position the buzz already has started.
"I know, deep down in his mind, he's waiting," said Tripp, whose team hosts San Ramon Valley tonight at 7. "He's eventually going to have this team. I think, by far, he will be the best player to ever come out of Livermore."
With a 13-point, 25-rebound effort against California on Jan. 23, Burton's impact was felt immediately.
"He comes into the gym carrying his tennis shoes and I'm like Whoa, look at the size of those things!' " Cal coach Hans deLannoy said. "He's amazingly mature for a freshman. He plays real smart."
It's the hype -- he already gets the loudest ovation from the Livermore crowd during pregame introductions -- that has attached itself like a leech to this athlete, fair or not.
"Basketball is just a game," said Burton's father, Claude. "Maybe by default he'll be known by basketball, but we want him to be known as a quality individual."
After finishing his three-year middle school career at East Avenue, where he compiled a school-record 1,980 points, Burton was already a conversation piece around town.
Burton had a high of 42 points and "a lot of 40s" and averaged around 30. His teammates were in awe.
"It was fun when I started getting popular," Burton said with a grin. "Kids would come up and say, I've seen you play. Can I get your (autograph)? 'Cause I know you're going to the pros.' "
It was flattering and inspirational stuff for Burton, whose size (he was 5-11 at age 12) was always an attraction.
His growing pains are legendary -- and torturous. Osgood-Schlatter disease seemed to arrive as often as the morning paper when Burton was between the ages of 11 and 14. "I couldn't even run or play. I'd walk with a limp," he said.
But at 13, while playing pickup basketball with his uncles, Burton fractured the femur bone in his right leg.
After spending a week in a Las Vegas hospital, where he had a small plate and four screws inserted into his leg, Burton finally climbed out of bed to a startling conclusion.
"I guess I stood up to my dad and I was about two inches taller than he was," Burton said. "I was still growing in the hospital."
If the gift of size eluded Claude Burton, who is 5-11, it certainly has a presence in the family. Claude has a 6-4 younger brother and two cousins taller than 6-5, including Johnny High, who played for the Phoenix Suns in the mid 1970s.
"I guess D.J. just skipped my genes," Claude said.
How big Burton eventually will become is the subject of some debate. A family pediatrician from Las Vegas, where Burton was born, predicted that he would stretch to nearly 7 feet. He was only 13 then.
Others, including his physician in Livermore, believe Burton will finish at 6-7, tops.
"Some people keep growing and growing and growing, even when the stats say they should stop," said Dr. Jonathan Flanzbaum, a local pediatrician who has treated Burton. "Though that's not where I'd put my money."
But a better question is this: Does it really matter?
"Because he's a freshman, people don't expect him to play the way he does," said Matt Andrade, the team's junior shooting guard and leading scorer. "But he's good. We use him as a weapon."
Over the summer, Burton played for the Tracy Flight, a traveling all-star squad. The team participated in a prestigious tournament in Las Vegas, where Burton's eyes settled on a tall, awkward boy soaking up all the attention at center court. He was 14, already 6-10, and his future was being dissected in more ways than Burton's. Somebody said something about interest from "60 Minutes."
Burton could live with people staring at his feet.
Contra Costa Newspapers
Feb. 6, 1998
LIVERMORE -- The immense shoes -- yachts with laces, really -- temporarily steal the attention from their owner, D.J. Burton.
The soft-spoken Livermore High School freshman, whose Nikes practically need their own port, realizes this. What can he do?
So Burton sits quietly on a bench inside the boys locker room and allows his size 15 shoes to be scrutinized like museum pieces.
"When I was 11 or 12, it was pitiful. Every two weeks I'd change sizes," said Burton, now 15. "I skipped size 10 and went straight to 11. It's stopped now, thank goodness."
His 6-foot-4 frame, however, has not surrendered. As a result, Livermore coach Mike Tripp is grooming this gentle giant whom a family doctor once predicted might reach 7 feet tall for eventual prep stardom.
Whether he gets there is quite another issue. But Burton finds himself in an awkward position the buzz already has started.
"I know, deep down in his mind, he's waiting," said Tripp, whose team hosts San Ramon Valley tonight at 7. "He's eventually going to have this team. I think, by far, he will be the best player to ever come out of Livermore."
With a 13-point, 25-rebound effort against California on Jan. 23, Burton's impact was felt immediately.
"He comes into the gym carrying his tennis shoes and I'm like Whoa, look at the size of those things!' " Cal coach Hans deLannoy said. "He's amazingly mature for a freshman. He plays real smart."
It's the hype -- he already gets the loudest ovation from the Livermore crowd during pregame introductions -- that has attached itself like a leech to this athlete, fair or not.
"Basketball is just a game," said Burton's father, Claude. "Maybe by default he'll be known by basketball, but we want him to be known as a quality individual."
After finishing his three-year middle school career at East Avenue, where he compiled a school-record 1,980 points, Burton was already a conversation piece around town.
Burton had a high of 42 points and "a lot of 40s" and averaged around 30. His teammates were in awe.
"It was fun when I started getting popular," Burton said with a grin. "Kids would come up and say, I've seen you play. Can I get your (autograph)? 'Cause I know you're going to the pros.' "
It was flattering and inspirational stuff for Burton, whose size (he was 5-11 at age 12) was always an attraction.
His growing pains are legendary -- and torturous. Osgood-Schlatter disease seemed to arrive as often as the morning paper when Burton was between the ages of 11 and 14. "I couldn't even run or play. I'd walk with a limp," he said.
But at 13, while playing pickup basketball with his uncles, Burton fractured the femur bone in his right leg.
After spending a week in a Las Vegas hospital, where he had a small plate and four screws inserted into his leg, Burton finally climbed out of bed to a startling conclusion.
"I guess I stood up to my dad and I was about two inches taller than he was," Burton said. "I was still growing in the hospital."
If the gift of size eluded Claude Burton, who is 5-11, it certainly has a presence in the family. Claude has a 6-4 younger brother and two cousins taller than 6-5, including Johnny High, who played for the Phoenix Suns in the mid 1970s.
"I guess D.J. just skipped my genes," Claude said.
How big Burton eventually will become is the subject of some debate. A family pediatrician from Las Vegas, where Burton was born, predicted that he would stretch to nearly 7 feet. He was only 13 then.
Others, including his physician in Livermore, believe Burton will finish at 6-7, tops.
"Some people keep growing and growing and growing, even when the stats say they should stop," said Dr. Jonathan Flanzbaum, a local pediatrician who has treated Burton. "Though that's not where I'd put my money."
But a better question is this: Does it really matter?
"Because he's a freshman, people don't expect him to play the way he does," said Matt Andrade, the team's junior shooting guard and leading scorer. "But he's good. We use him as a weapon."
Over the summer, Burton played for the Tracy Flight, a traveling all-star squad. The team participated in a prestigious tournament in Las Vegas, where Burton's eyes settled on a tall, awkward boy soaking up all the attention at center court. He was 14, already 6-10, and his future was being dissected in more ways than Burton's. Somebody said something about interest from "60 Minutes."
Burton could live with people staring at his feet.
posted by Corey at 9:40 AM
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