Burton is a brut in the middle for West Valley

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Joseph Burton is accustomed to standing tall on campus, but the West Valley junior is beginning to gain attention throughout the Southland.

Burton, a 6-foot-8, 285-pound center, is averaging 25.2 points and 18.5 rebounds for West Valley (11-1). He scored 29 points Saturday night and collected a season-high 27 rebounds in a 73-62 victory over Chaparral in the final of the West Valley tournament.

The kid seems determined to improve as well. He played volleyball last spring just to improve his footwork for basketball. Defenses should also have a tough time swamping Burton the next two years, as junior wing Eric Lawton is averaging 19.2 points and 6-5 junior forward Dakota Downs is averaging 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds.

The Mustangs also received some backcourt help this season from John Balwigaire, who is averaging 12 points and 3.9 assists. Balwigaire has been a bit of a nomad during his high school career, starring for Hemet as a sophomore and Riverside Ramona as a junior.

This might be a team to bookmark.

--Dan Arritt