Utica College men’s basketball Head Coach Chris Connolly announced the hiring of Sean Burton as the top assistant coach in the Fall of 2011. Burton will assist Connolly with recruiting, scouting, practice and game preparation, as well as all other facets of the program.
Burton, who is originally from nearby Yorkville, N.Y., enters the coaching scene after playing professionally in Iceland over the course of the last two years. While playing professionally, Burton led Snaefell, which is one of 12 teams in the Express League (the highest of Iceland’s three professional leagues), to a championship in his first season en route to earning Second-Team All-League as well as First-Team All-Imports.
During his inaugural season with Snaefell, Burton scored an Iceland record 55 points in one game, including a 16 3-pointers, which is also a record. In league play, he averaged 19.2 points per game, and he ranked fourth in assists with 7.4 per game. He played in 24 league games and made 88 3-pointers, shooting 44.7 percent from beyond the arc, and he shot 88 percent (73-for-83) from the free throw line.
Burton graduated from Ithaca College in 2009 with a bachelor degree in Sports and Exercise Science. As a member of the Ithaca basketball team he was a two-time All-American selection, two-time Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year and he was also a three-time All-Conference First Team selection.
As a Bomber, he made quite an impact on the College’s all-time record book, and he currently holds the school-record for assists (556), three-pointers (261), and free throw percentage (90%). He also ranks third all-time in scoring (1,736) and fifth in steals (163). He also owns the Empire 8 Conference record for points (598) in a season and free throw percentage (91.4%).
Prior to heading to Ithaca, he graduated from nearby Notre Dame High School, where he led the Jugglers to two Sectional Championships, on his way to breaking the school-record for 3-pointers made. In his senior campaign at Notre Dame he was named the Tri-Valley League Player of the Year.
Burton plans to begin pursuing his master’s degree at Utica College in the Spring of 2012.
