Chris Burgess

For the Australian rules footballer, see Chris Burgess (footballer).

Chris Burgess

BYU Cougars
Position	Assistant coach
League	Big 12
Personal information
Born	(1979-04-23) 23 April 1979 Provo, Utah, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	244.2 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school	Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) Woodbridge (Irvine, California)
College	Duke (1997–1999) Utah (2000–2002)
NBA draft	2002: undrafted
Playing career	2002–2013
Position	Power forward / center
Coaching career	2015–present
Career history
As player:
2002	Idaho Stampede
2003	Tuborg Sports Club
2004–2005	Cairns Taipans
2005	San Miguel Beermen
2005–2006	Cairns Taipans
2006	Criollos de Caguas
2006–2007	Mobis Phoebus
2007–2008	TTNet Beykoz
2008	Gigantes de Carolina
2008	BC Donetsk
2008–2009	Erdemirspor
2009–2010	Al Wasl
2010	Sharjah
2010–2011	Zastal Zielona Góra
2011–2012	Trefl Sopot
2012	Guaynabo Mets
2012–2013	Baniyas
2013	Al Ahli
2013	Al Shabab
As coach:
2015–2019	Utah Valley (assistant)
2019–2022	BYU (assistant)
2022–2024	Utah (assistant)
2024–present	BYU (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player: All-NBL First Team (2005) All-NBL Third Team (2006) First-team Parade All-American (1997)

Chris Burgess (born 23 April 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the BYU Cougars men’s basketball team. Burgess started his freshman year at Mater Dei High School, then transferred to his local school Woodbridge High School in California and played his remaining high school years. He then attended Duke University and University of Utah. Although Burgess attended training camp with the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, and played on several NBA Summer League teams, he never played in a regular-season NBA game. He did, however, play professional basketball in a variety of leagues in various parts of the world. In 2013, he officially retired from professional basketball and joined the coaching staff at the University of Utah as an undergraduate assistant coach. From 2015 to 2019, Burgess served as an assistant coach for the Utah Valley University men's basketball team. Following the 2019 season, Burgess followed UVU head coach Mark Pope to BYU.

College career

Out of high school, Burgess was recruited by several high-profile programs, and he eventually narrowed the choices to Duke and BYU. After consideration, he signed with the Blue Devils. Burgess' decision to attend Duke rather than BYU prompted a controversial series of comments from Cougar head coach Roger Reid, who accused Burgess of letting down his religion by turning down the offer from BYU. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Burgess was anticipated by many in the community to sign with BYU, which is owned and operated by that faith. Coach Reid's tirade was the straw that broke the back of his already strained relationship with the university; he was fired by the athletics department in consequence of the remarks and his team's abysmal 1–6 start to the season. (In a twist of fate, Burgess would later work for BYU as an assistant coach)

Burgess played alongside William Avery, Shane Battier, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette at Duke University for two years between 1997 and 1999 (i.e. the 1998 and 1999 seasons) under coach Mike Krzyzewski. Duke made the Elite Eight and the NCAA National Championship game in Burgess's two seasons. He averaged 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and shot 50.8% from the field while averaging 12.5 minutes a game as a freshman. He averaged 5.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, & shot 61.4% from the field while averaging 15.6 minutes a game as a sophomore. He left Duke as the 23rd all-time leading blocks leader. His performance fell short of the high expectations heaped on the McDonald's High School All-American when Burgess first chose Duke over BYU.

Eventually, Burgess transferred to the University of Utah under head coach Rick Majerus. At Utah, Burgess suffered three different injuries. His redshirt year he suffered a bulged disc in his back. His Junior year, he was forced out of six games due to a broken left ankle. After a solid start to his senior season, Burgess tore his right plantar fascia on national TV vs. Texas, forcing him to miss the remainder of his senior year. He averaged 7.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and shot 53.5% from the field while averaging 21.6 minutes a game his junior year. He averaged a team high in 5 statistical categories with 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and shot 66% from the field while averaging 25.5 minutes a game his senior year.

NBA career

2002–2003 – training camp for the Phoenix Suns of the NBA.

2002 – Salt Lake Mountain Revue Summer League with Phoenix Suns

2003 – Boston Summer League with Boston Celtics

2004 – Orlando Summer league & Las Vegas Summer League with Boston Celtics

2006 – Las Vegas Summer League with Washington Wizards

External links

• Official website
• Utah Valley Bio
• BYU bio