Burney gets his chance

Jerome Burney's name doesn't ring a bell, his statistics don't stand out, and his in-game experience is comparable to the average fan's.

But all of that might change in the upcoming days.

After Burney's solid contribution off the bench in the Terrapin men's basketball team's loss at Miami, coach Gary Williams acknowledged he was pleased with the redshirt freshman. In Burney's first court appearance since Jan. 2, he scored four points and grabbed five rebounds in 12 minutes - a refreshing stat line from a reserve.

"I think he can help us. I don't think there's any doubt about that," Williams said. "I was really pleased with his effort [Saturday]. He picked it up a couple weeks ago and started to play better, and I'll play him. I always tell the team, you earn your playing time in practice. That's what he's done."

It certainly hasn't been an easy road for Burney.

He missed the entire 2006-07 season with a left foot injury and has felt the side effects of it this year. Burney's athleticism is not what it used to be when he was playing high school basketball in Atlanta, and he admitted that his vertical leap has decreased.

"It's nowhere near as bad as it was last year," Burney said of his foot.

But in ACC play, his playing time had been a lot like last year's - none. Until Saturday, that is.

Burney usually sits toward the end of the bench during games, but on this day, something was different. It seemed evident Burney would receive some playing time, as he took a seat right between two assistant coaches - a seat reserved for players preparing to enter the game.

When senior forward James Gist got into foul trouble, Williams signaled to Burney with a couple minutes left in the first half. The 6-foot-9, 222-pound power forward went to the scorer's table and then onto the court. He immediately contributed with a ferocious dunk following an offensive rebound to end the first half. It brought the Terps within three, sent them into the locker room with a wave of momentum and, most importantly, opened a door for more playing time in the second half.

"Coach is just looking for an extra spark on the bench," Burney said. "The Virginia Tech game, we had no points coming off the bench, so he's trying to find a new spark coming off the bench. He gave me a chance to prove myself, and I went hard through practice and stuff, and it allowed me to go against Miami."

Burney played 10 more minutes in the second half, and he didn't look like someone who had previously averaged 5.7 minutes and 1.2 points per game. Burney hustled and showed confidence, providing the Terps with a much needed down-low presence off the bench.

It's something senior center Bambale Osby had been asking for quite some time.

"It's beautiful to see, man," Osby said. "He's a good player, a good athlete, and having him coming out of there and get some big dunks, giving us some real good minutes when James is in foul trouble is something that we need."

Added Gist, "That's what he's capable of. He really played some key minutes, really helped us out. He came in there and gave us some positive minutes, and that's what we need coming off the bench."

Burney had showed signs of life earlier in the season, most notably against Illinois when he had four points, two rebounds and two blocks in 10 minutes. But after that game, Burney had slowly disappeared in Williams' rotation.

"He's played well in practice the last two weeks," Williams said. "He's really come on, and he made a great play at the end of the half and deserved to be in there. He's played better than the other inside players in practice coming off the bench."

With Gist and Osby leaving the team after this season, there are plenty of minutes up for grabs, and any playing time will benefit Burney in the future.

For now, though, it's up to Burney to build on his game against Miami, which would not only be a boost to him but one to the Terps as well.

"You're gonna have your ups and downs," Burney said. "Basically, I know I only have control of what I can do. As long as I produce, that's all I can do. I can't control anything else. I came in, gave five good minutes [against Miami], and I'm pretty sure he put me in [in the second half because of that]. That's all I can do."

zuckermandbk@gmail.com