Hamden's Scott Burrell Named SCSU Men's Basketball Coach

Hamden native and former UConn great Scott Burrell has been named the new head coach of the Southern Connecticut State University men’s basketball team.

Burrell, who remains the only athlete ever to be a first-round draft pick in two professional sports, will be formally introduced in a press conference at the school on Monday.

Burrell, 44, has spent the last eight seasons as an assistant coach to Tom Moore at Quinnipiac University.

“Scott Burrell is synonymous with athletic excellence, as he has demonstrated a proven track record as a winner as a scholastic, collegiate and professional athlete - in both basketball and baseball - and now for nearly a decade, as a professional and collegiate coach,” SCSU Athletic Director Jay Moran said in a press release. “We are thrilled to have Scott leading our men’s basketball program as we continue our quest for a National Championship. He is an excellent role model for our student-athletes and possesses a wealth of experience that is unparalleled.”

Burrell said he’s excited for the opportunity and the challenge of leading the Owls.

“Growing up in Hamden and spending the better part of my life here in Connecticut, I have had the ability to watch from afar as Southern Connecticut State University and its men’s basketball program have demonstrated tremendous growth,” Burrell said. “I am excited for the challenge of leading our young men in the years ahead, to be an integral part of the SCSU community, and to be a highly visible ambassador who is embedded within the city of New Haven and the Greater New Haven region as a whole. I would like to thank President Mary Papazian, Director of Athletics Jay Moran and the search committee for providing me with this opportunity.

“In addition, I would also like to thank President John Lahey, Jack McDonald, Bill Mecca and the entire Quinnipiac University administration for their tremendous support, personally and professionally. I am grateful to have been a part of Coach (Tom) Moore’s staff for the last eight years. It has been a pleasure working alongside Coach Moore, Coach (Eric) Eaton and Coach (Sean) Doherty at Quinnipiac.”

Burrell recently finished his eighth season as an assistant coach at Quinnipiac University, a stretch in which the Bobcats claimed 143 victories and made four Division I postseason 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 via Quinnipiac Athletics