I know, I know, the title says it all, and I am sure a lot of people are scratching their head thinking, is this guy serious?
Yes, I am more than serious. I understand CP3, is the best point guard in the NBA, at worst he is in everybody's top 5 point guards. So, how can I possibly place a Sophomore college point guard in the same sentence of one of the NBA's best pure point guards? It is actually simple, maybe even elementary. Look at the stats I provide and hear out the points I am going to make.
Trey Burke as many college basketball enthusiasts already understand is no sluff. After taking the nation by storm his Freshman year, the world started to notice the former Ohio Mr. Basketball. He received Big Ten Freshman of the year honors (some had Zeller, some Burke, and some split) either way he received at least a share of the award. After accomplishing this feat he was named to one of the 20 finalists for point guard of the year, was named to the 2nd team all-big ten, as well as being named unanimously to the all-big ten Freshman first team. However, it doesn't end there. He was also named as a 2nd team All-American, in addition to being named to the 1st team Freshman All-American squad. Lastly, to round out his Freshman year accomplishments, Burke was named as an honeree to the AP All-American squad, first from Michigan to do so since Bullock and Robert "Tractor" Trailer in 1998 (RIP big fella). This helped Michigan gain true relevance in Basketball for the first time since the "Fab Five" era. Entering his Sophomore season, John Beilein, has the star playing at such a high level, he has many analysts claiming him to be the player of the year, or Wooden Award Winner. At the very least it will be a very close race between Burke, the stud from Gonzaga, and newly emerged Victor Oladipo. Either way, he has NBA scouts drooling over what the PG from Michigan can bring to their team, potentially having an impact on the league as great as CP3.
Now, I am sure you want me to give you all the amazing things Chris Paul did during his college years. However, why would I do that? Every person that knows anything about college and professional basketball already understands the greatness CP3 brings to the court every single night. Doing that would not only be a waste of my time, but your time as well. Instead, I am going to break down each players stats during their Freshman and Sophomore years and draw the comparisons between each player, which at times look to be eerily similar in nature. So, with no further adoo, here are the most important point guard stats you can compile in the wonderful world of college basketball.
Freshman Season
Chris Paul Trey Burke
| Points Per Game | 14.8 | 14.8 |
| Assists Per Game | 5.9 | 4.6 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| Steals Per Game | 2.7 | 0.9 |
| Field Goal % | 49.6 | 43.3 |
| 3 Point % | 46.5 | 34.8 |
| Free Throw % | 84.3 | 74.4 |
| Turnovers (season) | 82 | 94 |
| Turnovers per game | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Assist/ Turnover Ratio | 2.2 | 1.7 |
Sophomore Season
Chris Paul Trey Burke
| Points Per Game | 15.2 | 18.9 |
| Assists Per Game | 6.6 | 6.9 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 4.5 | 3.1 |
| Steals Per Game | 2.4 | 1.4 |
| Field Goal % | 45.1 | 49.6 |
| 3 Point % | 47.4 | 39.7 |
| Free Throw % | 83.4 | 78.6 |
| Turnovers (season) | 89 | 48 |
| Turnovers per game | 2.8 | 1.8 |
| Assist/ Turnover Ratio | 2.4 | 3.9 |
Now that you all have had a chance to digest the stats I have given you in a tremoundously amazing table (who knows if tremoundously is even a word but fuck it, I just invented it I guess, I mean this is a blog about PIGS, so who is going to be the Ass that points out that this isn't even a word?) I can help draw comparisons during their Freshman and Sophomore seasons. I understand Burke isn't even done yet, but there is only a handful of games left, the Big Ten Tourney and of course March Madness (scary how much time he as left to shine, I know!).
Okay, so let's take a look into Freshman year, I know after looking at those stats you are like, "Okay, Burke I see you, but damn CP3 you own him" right? Well not so fast. Yes, Paul does have Trey in several of the major categories but pay attention to the turnovers and assist/turnover ratio, not too mention the eerily similar PPG, RPG, and FG %. These are all so close that when you have seen them both play during their Freshman seasons you instantly go, "These guys are pigs and pigs of the same damn breed!"
Now, let's dig deeper and look at their Sophomore seasons shall we? Now Paul like Burke was Mr. Basketball in his home state (North Carolina). Also, like Burke, Paul received several honors before entering his 2nd season of his collegiate career. These included: ACC Rookie of the Year, 3rd team All-ACC, an All-American honorable mention, and National Freshman of the Year. Sound like Burke yet? I hope so, but if not I will continue. And I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to boast CP3's statistics but I figured it would be unfair not too, and since I am a huge Michigan fan, I know you all would begin starting to think I was biased.
Anyways, let's move on to these Sophomore year stats. As you can all see, Paul remained extremely consistent in maintaining his stellar Freshman year numbers. As you look at Burke's you see the same trend, yet it goes to another level. Burke improved dramatically this season making a majority of his numbers better than the present day, best pure point guard in the NBA. If you take notice, Burke has demolished CP3's PPG, beat his assists per game, FG % per game, destroyed the amount of turnovers in a season, as well as turnovers per game, and lastly the turnover to assist ratio. Yes, Paul still slightly edged Burke in rebounds per game, and clearly has Burke beat in steals and 3-point percentage. Is this enough to make up for the stunning turnover, assists, and points that Burke clearly boasts over CP3, I don't think so especially considering the position they play.
Now, let's dig even deeper into additional stats that I believe make the two stars similar. For one, they have nearly the same body. Both measure in at 6 foot, however, Burke has another edge being 15 pounds heavier than Paul was as a Sophomore. Secondly, CP3 left after his Sophomore year, Burke was poised to leave Michigan to test the draft after his Freshman year. However, he decided to stay, but in everyone's right mind they say he is going to enter the NBA after his 2nd season for the Wolverines (okay, so it is like a 99% chance). Thirdly, Burke and Paul joined the 1,000 point club during the end of their Sophomore season. Okay, so now I think I have you all convinced that Burke is the same player that Chris Paul was at Wake Forest (if not better).
Now, I want to look at two more intangibles that may set Burke aside. At both of their schools they are the main man (or pig if you are ready to use the terminology of this blog yet). Without them, their team simply isn't as good and may not win a lot of their games. So, I propose that the amount of fouls is extremely important in this situation. Paul averaged 2.6 fouls per game in each of his 2 seasons with the Demon Deacons, along with fouling out 4 times during that span. On the other hand, Burke averaged 1.6 and 1.8 fouls per game in his Freshman and Sophomore seasons respectively. Although this may be attributed to Paul going after the steal more and getting more reach calls, this could also be why Burke has less steals than CP3, and may be more efficient at stealing the ball than Paul. Additionally, Burke has never fouled out in a game, ensuring that his team has never had to fight harder than ever to replace their best player. And finally, the key stat is assist-to-turnover ratio. As you can see, Burke destroys Paul in this stat. It doesn't look like he kills him in this stat like PPG does, because the number is below 5 so the difference doesn't seem as great. However, when you look at the national ranking for assist to turnover ratio, the difference is astronomical. Chris Paul, in his best season (assist-to-turnover ratio wise) ranked 89th in the stat. Burke is currently number 1 in the country for that stat. If that doesn't measure point guard efficiency I don't know what does.
Even if you still don't believe Trey should be in the same sentence of a NBA star like CP3, I would like to remind you of what a famous writer and ESPN personality always claims, "Numbers Never Lie." In this case maybe we should be calling Trey Burke TB3!
If you still don't believe try the eye test
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