Burleson shines in star senior season for Jessieville
JESSIEVILLE — A member of the Class 3A All-State Tournament Team as a junior, Jessieville’s Alex Burleson took his game to new heights this season.
Scoring in double figures in all
31 of his team’s games during his senior campaign, the guard established himself as one of the premier offensive performers in Class 3A, earning his first All-State selection in the process.
Finishing with a stat line of 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.9 steals per game while leading the Lions to a record of 24-7, including 16-1 in the 3A/4A-8 blended conference, Burleson is The Sentinel-Record’s
2018 Boys Basketball Player of the Year and First Team All-Garland County.
“Coach (Jared) White and my teammates were the ones who helped me get to where I am,” Burleson said. “I had great pieces around me that could score the ball. Even if you do focus on me, my teammates are going to start hurting you eventually and you have to adjust, and that’s when I would take advantage.”
Averaging 26 points per game through Jessieville’s first nine games, Burleson wasted little time in establishing himself as the team’s go-to scorer and that role was put to the test when backcourt mate Braxton Shifflett suffered an ankle injury in December. Despite putting more pressure on himself to lead the offense, Burleson credited his teammates for the Lions being able to weather the storm with a scoring threat on the mend. “Obviously, I thought I had to score a lot more, but it wasn’t me that really changed,” he said. “It was (senior) Dalton McClard. He took Braxton’s spot and he’s always been kind of timid, but he knocked a few down early and from that point, I thought he shot really well.
“It didn’t really change for me. Dalton came in and filled those shoes while Braxton was out with the injury.”
Leading the team with just under 13 points per game last season, Burleson always had potential as a dynamic scorer, but following the transfer of All-State guard Sawyer Lamb to Lakeside, he grew into the complete package for the Lions.
Burleson led Jessieville in points, rebounds, assists and steals, while also spending most nights shadowing the other team’s best player on the defensive side of the ball.
“There’s always still room for improvement, but this summer, I played a little bit more competitive basketball and my foot speed got a lot better,” he said. “Everything kind of molded around that to help me do more to help this team win games.”
With Burleson leading the charge, Jessieville shook off an early threegame losing streak to become one of the hottest teams in the state down the stretch.
The Lions won 19 of their last 20 games to finish the regular season with a record of 21-4. Jessieville spent the entire second half of the season ranked in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Class 3A Super Six poll, earning the top spot before the start of the 3A-4 district tournament on Feb. 15.
After scoring 24 points in a 55-46 win over Paris, Burleson and the Lions played the host Mustangs in a
thrilling district tournament championship at Perryville High School.
Despite a game-high 29 points from their electric senior guard, the Lions were outscored 23-17 in the fourth quarter of a 61-54 loss, settling with a No. 2 seed for the 3A-1 regional tournament at Two Rivers.
Motivated by its first loss in nearly a month, Jessieville bested Cedarville and Charleston in consecutive games to set up a rematch with Perryville in the 3A-1 regional championship on Feb. 23.
Leading 27-15 at the half, Burleson and the Lions watched as the Mustangs clawed their way back to send the game to overtime before Garrison Branscum stunned Jessieville with a go-ahead basket in the waning seconds to give Perryville a 53-51 win.
Entering the Class 3A state tournament at Drew Central with a difficult first round matchup against Manila, Burleson received the brunt of the defensive attention.
The senior guard suffered through one of his worst shooting performances of the year, connecting on just 4 of his 13 attempts from the field while scoring a season-low 10 points in Jessieville’s 40-35 loss.
“They came in with a gameplan and they stuck to it,” Burleson said. “They were ready to take charges, and a lot of my points come from going downhill toward the basket. I had to be cautious of that and I got jump shots that night, but they didn’t fall. They carried out their gameplan and they were able to win because of it.
“I felt like I let a lot of people down. Not personally, but the team. A lot of people had high hopes and so did we. It wasn’t a shock, because we knew Manila was good, but we just really didn’t expect it to happen that way.”
Despite losing three of their last five games, Burleson was proud of what the Lions accomplished this season. Playing under the guidance of a new coach for the first time in over 20 years, Jessieville improved on its 22-11 mark from
2017 and finished with more wins than all but five teams in Class 3A.
“It wasn’t the whole thing, but I still feel like we were successful because it was a step up from last year,” he said.
Having been around the program that former coach Eddie Lamb built during his
22-year tenure with the Lions, Burleson enjoyed his lone season playing for White and believes the foundation has been laid to continue the success that Lamb started.
“I think the guys truly believe in coach White,” said Burleson. “He came in right away and let us know that we were here to work. I think those guys that are still there definitely invested in what he’s got going on.”
After leaving his mark among the most prolific scorers in program history alongside Hunter Daley and Brandon Shifflett, Burleson now has his focus on a potential career at the college level.
Having been in contact with Ouachita Baptist coach Dennis Nutt, among others, the senior hasn’t made any decisions yet regarding his future, choosing to weigh all his options as graduation rapidly approaches.
“I love basketball and it’s helped me tremendously in life, but I’m still processing everything,” Burleson said. “It’s humbling to see that the coaches and the recruiters take the time to come watch you play and just to talk to you. It’s been very cool.”
While his statistics and accolades speak for themselves, Burleson was more proud of the legacy he leaves behind as a person off the court.
“People were always telling me that they loved how I carried myself and the team, and they thought I represented Jessieville really well,” he said. “A state championship would have been cool, but that was the next best thing. I think that I left that legacy on Jessieville.”
“People were always telling me that they loved how I carried myself and the team, and they thought I represented Jessieville really well.”