Hamden's Scott Burrell Honored as 'Notable Citizen'

Southern Connecticut State University head men’s basketball coach Scott Burrell was honored by the Hamden Regional Chamber of Commerce as its “Notable Citizen” at its 20th annual Chamber Choice Awards event at Cascade.

Burrell was introduced as the Owls’ head coach on July 13, three days after the official announcement of his hiring. He joined the Owls after eight seasons as an assistant coach at nearby Quinnipiac University, a stretch in which the Bobcats claimed 143 victories and made four Division I post-season appearances. Burrell played an instrumental role in the Bobcats’ overall success and transition from the Northeast Conference to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

A first-round draft pick (20th overall) of the Charlotte Hornets in the 1993 NBA Draft, he also suited up with the Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets in a professional career that ran from 1993-2006. Burrell was a member of the 1998 Chicago Bulls team that won the World Championship and averaged 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game over his NBA career. He also spent five seasons playing professionally in Japan, Spain, the Philippines and China before entering the coaching ranks as an assistant with the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Developmental League.

He remains the only athlete in professional sports history to be drafted in the first round of two different sports. A three-sport scholastic standout at Hamden High School, he was drafted in the first round of the 1989 Major League Baseball Draft by the Seattle Mariners (and again drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays the following year), but enrolled at the University of Connecticut instead, where he developed into one of the Huskies’ all-time greats.

Burrell was the first player in UConn’s Division I history to top 1,500 points, 750 rebounds, 275 assists and 300 steals in his career. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over his four seasons and set a new Huskies record with 310 steals. Burrell finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots and was eighth on the school’s all-time scoring list before heading to the NBA.

Photo courtesy of SCSU Athletics

Owls’ coach Scott Burrell was recognized by the Hamden Regional Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.