Drake men's basketball adds Kansas native Andrell Burton Jr. on signing day

When Andrell Burton Jr. started receiving a barrage of text messages and calls in the spring and summer of 2023, his old iPhone 6 didn’t hold up to the increased activity.

Burton’s nearly 10-year-old phone couldn’t handle the part of Division I recruiting that people rarely talk about: Messages and calls from college coaches at all hours of the day. Some calls wouldn’t go through to his out-of-date cell phone, and there were texts sent that Burton never received.

It wasn’t a problem that Burton ever experienced before, but there was a reason for the influx of attention.

The 6-foot-5, 175-pound Campus High School (Kansas) basketball player had just finished one of the best seasons of his short career, which included a 40-point performance — with 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks — in a 74-46 win.

“Everything was going in and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be a great night,’” Burton told the Des Moines Register ahead of signing day. “The rim felt like it was as big as the ocean, honestly.”

His success earned him a three-star ranking from 247Sports Composite, and Burton established himself as a top-five recruit in the state of Kansas. His on-court accolades turned the heads of college coaches.

Drake men’s basketball was one of the programs that wanted Burton on the roster.

And it wasn’t long after the Bulldogs offered that Burton decided that he wanted to play in Des Moines.

Burton chooses Bulldogs over half a dozen other offers

The Campus HS senior star collected offers from Indiana State, South Dakota State, Wyoming, Kansas City, Saint Louis and SIU-Edwardsville, in addition to Drake.

The Bulldogs’ offer was a dream come true, especially after Burton watched them make it to the NCAA Tournament a season ago.

“It seemed so unreal because I watched them on TV,” Burton said. “I could see myself playing on TV and being in that atmosphere. It just shows that normal people can become superstars. It just shows that I can hopefully do that one day.”

Other than the possibility of sports celebrity, there were other reasons why Drake felt like the right fit.

The Knapp Center is about five hours from his home in Wichita, and it was important to Burton that his family could travel to games. He liked the family feel and winning culture, not only within the basketball program but at the school.

And then there were talks about his potential.

Drake’s coaches saw similarities between Burton and Tucker DeVries, the reigning conference Player of the Year and a potential NBA draft pick. After all those conversations, Burton was sold.

“It was all butterflies and rainbows,” Burton said.

Growth, in more ways than one, over the last few months

Even with the 40-point game and a Division I future, Burton knows that he’s far from his ceiling. He understands that he’s far from matching DeVries’ talents, too, but he’s at least caught up to the junior guard/forward height-wise.

While his recruiting profiles list Burton at 6-foot-5, he thinks he now stands closer to 6-foot-7 and he boasts a 6-foot-10 wingspan.

And Burton didn’t rest on his laurels after that one stellar high school game. In that performance, he showed that he can be a threat on offense and can turn on his defense at any given moment. Now, as a senior, he’s focused on improving his leadership abilities.

“I feel like I’ve grown as a player and as a leader,” Burton said. “Now that I’ve done that, I can talk to my teammates and encourage them to do better in some aspects and hopefully bring us all together.”

Sights set on success in his senior season

Burton has one season of high school basketball left, and then he’ll move on to Drake.

But before he finishes his career at Campus, he has a lofty list of goals. Burton wants to earn the honor of 6A Player of the Year and Mr. Kansas Basketball. As for his team, he first wants to win the league and play on the courts at Wichita State.

Then, to finish it all, he wants a full-circle moment.

“Hopefully make it to the championship game and play against Blue Valley Northwest,” Burton said. “I really want them, because they beat me my freshman year in state.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake men's basketball signee Andrell Burton Jr. is turning heads