Burleson leaving his mark

RENO " Great players come and go quite frequently in college basketball. Great teammates, though, stay with you forever.

As far as the Nevada Wolf Pack basketball team is concerned, Lyndale Burleson is both.

"'Dale has meant so much to me," freshman Luke Babbitt said Wednesday. "We're roommates on the road. He's taught me so much about so many things, stuff I'm sure I'm going to use for the rest of my life."

After a career spent in a supporting role to his more celebrated Wolf Pack teammates, it is fitting that the spotlight will finally focus on Burleson tonight. The Pack will honor the 6-foot-3 guard on Senior Night before tonight's final regular-season home game against San Jose State.

"I've taken so much from him," freshman Ahyaro Phillips said. "'Dale is one of the best persons I've ever met in my life. He's helped me so much with my game, socially, everything. His spirit, his enthusiasm, he's just taught me so much."

Burleson, who entered the Wolf Pack program before the 2004-05 season out of Franklin High in Seattle, has never scored more than 13 points in a game during his Nevada career. His career shooting percentage from the field is just 33 percent, just 59 percent from the free throw line. And he's averaged a mere 2.4 points a game in his career over 117 games.

Great teammates, though, are never judged by the numbers they leave behind.

"'Dale does so much for the team, a lot of the things he does don't show up on the stat sheet," Babbitt said. "But he doesn't care about that. All he wants to do is help the team win."

Wolf Pack coach Mark Fox had to fight back the emotions when talking about Burleson.

"You know, when our team had a chance to go south this year, when we were really struggling with no leadership, no experience, Lyndale just refused to let that happen," Fox said. "He stepped up and brought a contagious enthusiasm to practice every single day. He's been phenomenal."

Fox began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Washington from 1991-93. That's when he first met a 6-year-old Burleson. Burleson's father Al and brother Al Jr. played college football at Washington.

"I got to know the Burleson family back then and I got to meet all of the little Burleson boys," said Fox, also referring to a young Nate Burleson, who went on to star at Nevada as a wide receiver and now plays for the Seattle Seahawks. "So I've known Lyndale most of his life."

It was an easy decision for Fox to include Burleson in his first recruiting class when he became the Pack's head coach in the spring of 2004.

"He's such a great kid," Fox said. "No, he's not a kid anymore. He's a man now. When somebody comes into your program as a young man and leaves as a grown man, mature and educated, to experience that process is remarkable."

Burleson said leaving Fox and the Wolf Pack after this season won't be easy.

"I'm very close to my family," Burleson said. "Family is very important to me. But I know when I need to talk about things in my life and my father is not around, I can talk to coach Fox about anything. I've learned so much from coach Fox, about basketball and about life. He's made me a better basketball player and a better man."

Fox said he couldn't have received a better compliment from a player.

"I know the Burleson family very well," Fox said. "His father is one of the greatest fathers I've ever known. That means a lot to me for him to say that."

Burleson has earned his reputation around the Western Athletic Conference with defense. He was named to the WAC's All-Defense team a year ago despite playing in just 23 games and starting just two.

"He has unbelievable lateral quickness and balance," Fox said. "And he knows how to use his experience to see things before they happen."

In other words, Burleson is a coach's dream.

"Lyndale doesn't care if he starts or comes off the bench," Fox said. "He doesn't care about how many minutes he plays. He doesn't even care where he plays on the floor. You might not know it, but he's played four different positions this year. But it was important for us to reward his effort by finding a place for him to play."

Burleson said he honed his defensive skills as a junior in high school playing alongside future NBA player Aaron Brooks at Franklin. The two " Brooks scored 38 points and Burleson scored eight " led Franklin to the Washington Class 4A state title in 2003 over Mead High of Spokane and future NBA player Adam Morrison .

"It was real hard going up against him in practice everyday," said Burleson of Brooks, who is now with the Houston Rockets. "He is so fast, so strong and he can score. But playing against him really helped me take my defense up a notch."

Defense, though, is not his only skill. "If my team needs me to score, I can score," Burleson said. "But everything starts with defense. It all starts with that energy."

"He has the best spirit," sophomore guard Armon Johnson said. "He brings that spirit everyday to practice. I just want to make sure we go out and get him a win (against San Jose State). He's so unselfish. He's always doing things for his teammates. We need to do this for him."

Fox is confident the Burleson spirit will remain with the program for a long time.

"Lyndale has established how hard you have to work," Fox said. "So when this team goes out and practices hard next year, when they play hard in games, they will have learned that from Lyndale."

The emotions will be flowing before tonight's game.

"I'm sure I will be emotional," Burleson said. "Playing here has meant so much to me. But once the game starts it will be all about basketball."

"It's probably going to be more difficult for me than it will be for him," smiled Fox.