Robbie Burrer Followed the Rules : After a Year On the Sidelines, He Is Back in Basketball

Last year, Robbie Burrer just sat and watched. He was frustrated, miserable, disappointed. Some people told him he should have moved or found a way around the rules, but Burrer didn’t think either suggestion was right.

So, the 6-foot 4-inch, 190-pound power forward spent his junior year in the stands, rooting for the Troy High School varsity basketball team and wondering if the college recruiters had written him off as a has-been.

“It was an awful year,” Burrer said.

But, this summer, Burrer is back. He has rebounded from an almost year-long basketball layoff and is averaging 25 points and 14 rebounds a game in the summer Superstar Development League at Valencia High. He says for the first time in a long time, basketball is fun again.

“My enthusiasm for the game is double what it has ever been,” he said. “At Servite, it wasn’t fun. All of the fun had been taken out of it. A lot of the reason was because I had always been one of the top players until high school. All of a sudden at Servite, I wasn’t.

“Plus, there was all this pressure to perform well. The coaches kept on you about everything. A lot of kids at Servite had been brought up with that kind of discipline in other Catholic schools, but I wasn’t used to it at all. I was very frustrated.”

Frustration followed Burrer throughout his sophomore year at Servite. When Burrer suffered from mononucleosis early in the fall semester, he lost his stamina, starting spot, 3.0 grade-point average and his enthusiasm.

By the time the year ended, Burrer had also lost his way.

He quit the varsity team and left Servite during an exodus of basketball players that was popularly called the defection of the Servite Seven. He transferred to Troy and because of CIF rules that require transferring players to establish a new residence to compete at the varsity level, Burrer sat out his junior year.

The seven players, including four projected starters, left Servite during a two-month period last summer and all of them, except Burrer, played last winter.

“Robbie obeyed the rules,” said Mike Williams, Troy coach. “And he was penalized for that. But I admire him very much for following the rules. He’s a super young man. It was very frustrating for him not to be able to compete.”

Jaime Cardiche, All-Angelus League center, and Mitch Brown, point guard, went to St. Anthony in Long Beach, where they led the Saints to a co-championship in the Camino Real League. Mike Meyers went to Marina and guard Kent Solomon went to Diamond Bar. Guard Steve Balstad transferred to St. John’s. Forward Baron Coenen played for Edison.

Burrer kept statistics for Troy.

“My parents offered to move and were willing to do anything so I could play,” Burrer said. “But I didn’t want to put them through all that. I didn’t think it was right. Plus, I wanted to keep my nose clean. I didn’t want to get in a situation where my eligibility might get my teammates in trouble.”

That’s what happened at Edison where Coenen was declared ineligible going into the final week of the season after it was discovered he did not live in Edison’s district. Sunset League officials forced the Chargers to forfeit five league victories, which cost them their second-place standing. Although league officials reversed their decision two days later, Southern Section officials intervened and overturned the league’s ruling and declared Edison ineligible for the playoffs.

Many of the Servite Seven pointed to Coach Larry Walker as their reason for leaving. At the time, Burrer said Walker put “too much pressure on us, and that’s why a lot of people folded.” But Burrer says his own reasons for leaving involved more than just a problem with Walker’s coaching technique.

“I didn’t feel comfortable there,” Burrer said. “It was not a decision based on a certain thing or a certain person. Maybe for the others. But for me, it was a building up of a lot of things. I have no bad feelings for anyone, including Coach Walker.”

In fact, Burrer credits Walker as being one of two people who have helped him to develop his talents.

“Coach Walker gave me a chance to start at Servite,” he said. “It’s really very rare for a sophomore to start on the varsity, especially at a school like Servite. I made a lot of mistakes, but he still hung with me. That kind of support helped me a lot. It gave me confidence and that makes you play better. There were other players, including some seniors on the team, who were as good as me, but Walker played me. He said he saw potential and wanted to develop it.”

Dave Aucoin, who runs the USA Development League and Superstar Development League among others, also spotted Burrer’s potential when Burrer was in the seventh grade.

But, then again, as Aucoin remember it, Burrer’s potential was hard to miss.

“He was almost six feet tall in the seventh grade,” Aucoin said. “He was the big man and a tough competitor. He was an instrumental team player, a winner. He was the kind of kid who hated to lose. But he didn’t go around, keeping it in his gut for a week. If he lost, he’d play twice as hard next time.”

Burrer said playing in Aucoin’s traveling and all-star leagues helped him to learn and polish fundamentals. He said he’s certain the skills he developed under Aucoin’s direction are what prepared him to play on the varsity as a sophomore.

“I think I was ahead of others because of playing for Aucoin,” Burrer said. “Not only did I advance quickly, but Aucoin’s league allowed me to get a lot of exposure before high school.”

Burrer believes that exposure will help him to get a college scholarship, especially after having to sit out his junior year.

“I had been getting lot of mail, about 60 schools had sent me things,” he said. “But last year, when I wasn’t playing, that all be ceased. Playing in the Superstar league and BCI summer leagues, though, have given me a lot of college exposure. And, hopefully, this coming year, they’ll be interested again.”

“My enthusiasm for the game is double what it has ever been. At Servite, it wasn’t fun. All of the fun had been taken out of it. A lot of the reason was because I had always been one of the top players until high school. All of a sudden at Servite, I wasn’t.’

--Robbie Burrer

“My parents offered to move and were willing to do anything so I could play. But I didn’t want to put them through all that. I didn’t think it was right. Plus, I wanted to keep my nose clean. I didn’t want to get in a situation where my eligibility might get my teammates in trouble.’

--Robbie Burrer

“I didn’t feel comfortable there. It was not a decision based on a certain thing or a certain person. Maybe for the others . . . ‘

--Robbie Burrer