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Burton a Game Changer for Australia
July 28, 2016 04:43 PM | Women's Basketball
A ‘game changer.’ Those are the words Australian Olympic Team coach Brendan Joyce used to describe former West Virginia University student-athlete Natalie Burton.
“Everybody talks about the game changer; the difference maker in the game,” said Joyce. “From my point of view on how I coach, I want us to be a transition basketball team. But also not forgetting to play half court in a half court situation. Burton is the best athlete amongst all our bigs. She’s a gazelle, but she’s deceptively strong.”
And now Burton has an opportunity to help her native country reach the podium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. She has been a critical cog in the Jayco Opals’ front court since joining the team in the FIBA Oceania Championships in 2013. Since then, Burton has made a significant impact for the Opals, particularly with her defensive play. She helped Australia win Bronze in the 2014 FIBA World Championships and punch a ticket to the Rio Olympics by winning the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship.
“She’s our best defensive player,” said Joyce on Wednesday after Australia’s exhibition win over Canada in Newark, Delaware. “We’ve really worked on developing her offensive game. She was our leading rebounder at the World Championships off the bench. She’s one of our best defenders, so she can defend pick and roll really well.”
Learning defensive schemes under coach Mike Carey’s ‘Physical for 40’ mantra is one of the first things she learned once she arrived on campus at WVU in the fall of 2008.
“From my experience at WVU, I learned to work hard not only from Coach Carey, but also to work hard in the weight room,” Burton explained. “I learned about being far away from home and being put into a lot of difficult situations. Without that experience, I don’t think I’d be where I am today.”
Joyce lit up when asked about the Burton’s fundamentals. He credited Burton’s Junior Olympics coach and Carey for helping her develop into a player that is willing and able to jump into any type of game situation.
“There is no question (that coach Carey’s style helped her). I’m not surprised. We, as a coaching staff, talk about it, I take no credit for that. She has been really well-coached. I know she didn’t play a lot at West Virginia, but I know she played against a great player every day. We can tell she has been really well-coached. She had a great junior coach back in Australia as well. Her fundamentals are great and her focus is good. Whatever we decide to do, she’s always focused on what needs to be done.”
One of those focuses has been to improve Burton’s offensive game.
“The area she has really improved has been her offensive game,” noted Joyce. “We’re fantastic on transition with her filling the lanes with her mobility. That not only opens up situations for her and forces fouls, but it opens three-point shots for us. That’s what she brings the table. All the little things that don’t show on the stat sheet. Any coach that knows the game and will watch and say ‘that player is a pretty good player.’ You might look at the stats after the game and see three or four points and sometimes zero rebounds, but she’s a winner and helps us win.”
For Burton, her dream will come to ahead next week as Australia participates in the Rio opening ceremonies next Friday, Aug. 5. It’s a culmination of a decade-long process of what once was a dream and now a reality.
“It’s a surreal experience and feeling because I look back at the last 12 years of my career and everything led up to this point,” recalls Burton. “I didn’t realize it while I was doing it. It happened from just working hard, which opened doors for me, like coming to West Virginia. It progressed to this point where I am today.”
While her international career has taken off, Burton has relished the role as one of the Women’s National Basketball League’s (WNBL) top upcoming players. Just this past spring, she averaged 6.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game with her hometown Perth Lynx. The Lynx reached the WNBL Grand Final before falling to the Townsville Fire.
“It was a really good experience for me because it was my hometown,” Burton said. “I played away home for a year with the Melbourne Boomers. I loved being able to play in front of my family again. We had a really good season and made it all the way to the Grand Final with a new team. It was a great first year.”
Earlier this week, Burton returned to the United States where she began her college career. And as the old adage goes, ‘Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer.’ There were a handful of Mountaineer fans cheering on Burton and the green and yellow. Burton is still in awe of the support she receives from her WVU family.
“I consider Morgantown my second home,” said Burton. “To still be supported by the community and fans, it means so much to me. It’s my family and I am glad they came to watch me today. I feel incredibly proud to represent West Virginia University at the Olympics.”
The Opals will conclude their USA Showcase tour against France on Friday, July 29 (4:30 p.m.) in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Team USA on Sunday, July 31 (4 p.m.) at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Australia opens group play in the Rio Olympics on Saturday, Aug. 6 at 4:45 p.m. ET against Brazil. Burton will clash against fellow Mountaineer Yelena Leuchanka and Belarus in the final group play game on Saturday, Aug. 13, at 11:15 a.m.
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