The outcome of Markus Burton's early entry in the NBA Draft pool this offseason was all but guaranteed from the moment he announced the decision on April 11.
Burton made clear he was looking for ways to improve heading into his sophomore season while maintaining his eligibility at Notre Dame. Now Burton has followed through on withdrawing from the NBA Draft process after receiving feedback that excluded him from the NBA Draft Combine invitation list.
Notre Dame announced Burton's return Tuesday, four days after his decision was reported elsewhere.
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The anticlimactic result shouldn't lessen the importance of Burton's return for head coach Micah Shrewsberry's program. The Irish needed the ACC Rookie of the Year to return to improve on a 13-20 first season for Shrewsberry that ended with six wins in the last 10 games.
The 5-foot-11, 166-pound Burton was the catalyst of Notre Dame's offense in his freshman year and started all 33 games. Burton, who joined the Irish from nearby Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn as the 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball, led Notre Dame in scoring (17.5 points per game) and assists (4.3 per game).
Burton broke Notre Dame's freshman scoring record of 519 points by Troy Murphy, which stood since the 1998-99 season. Burton's 577 points ranked second in Division I among true freshman behind only Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard (598). Burton scored at least 10 points in all but three games and scored a season-high 31 points in a 70-65 home win over Wake Forest in late February, which bested his 29 points in the season-opening win over Niagara.
Burton also led the Irish with 63 steals, a number that tied Jerian Grant for third-most in a season at Notre Dame. That allowed Burton to become the only rookie in the country to average at least 17 points, four assists and 1.9 steals per game.
The news of Burton's return comes shortly after Notre Dame wrapped up its transfer portal work for the offseason. The Irish gained commitments from Monmouth forward Nikita Konstantynovskyi and Lehigh forward Burke Chebuhar last week. They joined Princeton guard Matt Allocco as graduate transfer additions for the 2024-25 roster, which sits at the NCAA maximum of 13 scholarship players heading into the summer.
Notre Dame's summer training session will bring players back on campus June 10.
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