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Trey Burke looked calm and unaffected by the crush of people surrounding him. He confidently chewed on a piece of gum, looked straight ahead and answered each question with the patience of an NBA veteran.
He looked like a guy ready for an expanded role with the Jazz.
No longer is Burke the wide-eyed rookie point guard, feeling his way through the league. Instead, Burke is coach Quin Snyder's floor general, and one of the players looked upon to lead the way. If the Jazz are going to surprise this upcoming season, Burke knows he will have to be one of the main reasons .
Even at the young age of 21, Burke senses he will have to grow up fast.
"I know that I have the ability to be a leader," Burke said. "I think I have the trust of my teammates, and I think that we have a team that's going to be a little better than people think. I just have to continue to work hard."
Burke also has to continue to get better. He has as much internal competition as any Jazz starter heading into the year. Burke played relatively well last season, even making the all-rookie team. But he struggled mightily on the defensive end, ran smack into the rookie wall around February, and faces questions as to whether he's truly a starting-caliber NBApoint guard.
Making the road even more rocky for Burke, the Jazz spent their No. 5 pick in June's NBA Draft on Dante Exum, a 6-foot-6 floor leader. Snyder and General Manager Dennis Lindsey have both said the two can play together in the same backcourt. But Exum has said he'd rather play the point guard role, and doesn't yet have the consistent jumpshot required of a shooting guard.
All of this adds some urgency for Burke to take a step forward this season. You would think a player who scored 30 points twice as a rookie and won three rookie of the month awards would be looked upon as a cornerstone. But this is Burke's reality. And for all of the question marks surrounding the former Michigan star, Snyder wants to see him make an improvement defensively, more than anything.
"Especially his pick and roll defense," Snyder said. "It starts with Trey, and he's got to be able to stop people. The league is full of great point guards, so he's going to have to be on top of his game every night.
"One of the things I like about Trey," he added, "is that he gets you into an offense. Now, I want to see him pushing the ball more in the open floor. I want to see him pass the ball ahead. It's a little different than he's played in the past. But we have confidence that he can do it."
Of course, the start of Burke's training camp hit a rough patch when nude photos of him leaked onto the internet via social media on Sunday night. Burke — to his credit — owned his mistake, and made sweeping apologies on Monday afternoon. He made it clear that he doesn't expect that to affect his status as a leader, and said that the incident has been forgiven by his teammates.
In the first two days of camp, he's made it a point to take Exum and rookie small forward Rodney Hood under his tutelage, telling them what to expect in their first seasons and making sure that they're in the right spots at the right time on offense.
"He's been very vocal out there," Hood said. "He's been finding people, and most importantly he's been getting after people defensively. That's what we need him to do. He's a presence out there."
Like a few of his teammates, Burke will have the opportunity to increase his production in Snyder's new offense. Last season, it was clear Burke was at his most comfortable running the pick and roll, rather than spotting up.
This year, he will have more of an opportunity to create with the ball in his hands. He will be trusted with more of the offense, sort of like a football coach opening up the playbook for his quarterback.
What will he do with it? Last season Burke averaged 12.8 points, 5.7 assists and 3 rebounds per game. But shooting 38 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range are numbers that will need to significantly improve. In that sense, he and Gordon Hayward are staring at the same challenge.
"We have a lot of weapons," Burke said. "We have a lot of people who can shoot it, and a lot of people who can create. I think all of that is going to help me become a better player."
Twitter: @tjonessltrib —
Trey Burke file
Vitals • 6-foot-1, 190 pounds
From • Columbus, Ohio.
• Played high school ball with Boston Celtics power forward Jared Sullinger.
• Grew up in Columbus — home to Ohio State — but starred at Michigan, which is OSU's rival.
• Averaged 12.8 points and 5.7 assists as a rookie last season.
• Made the NBA all-rookie first team.
• Played with the U.S. Select team over the summer. —
Key Jazz dates
Tuesday • Preseason opener
Wednesday, Oct. 29 • Regular season opener against Houston Rockets