Burton: 'I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I’d be living down here'
Burton: 'I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I’d be living down here'
Rather than simply flying in and out for the four-month NBL campaign, Alonzo Burton made Invercargill home all year round - and adds it's been a good move.
Professional basketballers can be quite nomadic.
They often travel from gig to gig. In the case of Southland Sharks players, they often arrive in Invercargill at the start of the season and depart straight after it.
It’s the nature of pro basketball.
But Alonzo Burton is one of those that has somewhat bucked the trend.
Burton was born in Taranaki before moving as a two-year-old to Hawke’s Bay which very much became home. He’s the son of American-born NBL legend Willie Burton.
In 2020 Burton Jr decided to sign with the Sharks, although that season was curtailed by Covid-19.
He re-signed for the 2021 season and has remained with Southland since.
And to top that off, rather than simply flying in and out for the four-month NBL campaign, he’s made Invercargill home all year round.
“I’ve been living here for over a year now. I guess I’ve called Southland home for a little bit now,” Burton said.
“I quite like it down here, it’s a good change of pace. It has all the facilities I need down here.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I’d be living down here. It’s a great community, the people are really good here and I really enjoy it.”
Outside of the NBL season Burton works at Ruru Specialist School. A school which teaches pupils who have been identified with high or very high needs.
“I work with some amazing people and the students are amazing as well. It’s very rewarding, I love helping people.
“It’s a perfect fit for me. My boss - she is really good to allow me to go and do my basketball. It’s a good situation.”
There is also a group of Southland Stags players who work at Ruru School and juggle their rugby commitments with the job.
“There’s a of Stags boys that work there as well, and you get that togetherness in the community intertwining with all the sporting codes, which is pretty cool. You don’t get that in many other cities.”
The 30-year-old’s latest basketball assignment is this week with the Southland Sharks’ 3x3 team.
This week is the third year Invercargill’s ILT Stadium Southland has played host to the National 3x3 Cup.
It’s also the third year that Burton has lined up as part of the Sharks team. He hit a matchwinner in 2020 to lift Southland to a title and was also part of the team that lifted the trophy last year.
“Two (3x3 Cup) championship teams, so that’s pretty special in itself… It’s good to be back out there and going for a three-peat.”
Like many, it was a learning curve for Burton playing the three-on-three format in that first year of the 3x3 Cup and has now got a much better understanding of the game.
“It’s a different game from five on five, that’s for sure. Two of the biggest differences is the physicality, you’re basically allowed to play rugby out there. All the players know that, so you adjust to that.
“And just the spend of it, in five on five you can, not take a rest, but in a possession, you can hide yourself a bit. In three on three if you try and do that you get exposed pretty quick.”
The Southland Sharks got off to a solid start on day one of the 3x3 Cup on Wednesday winning three of their five games.
The Sharks have a big day ahead on day two with a further five games.
The Southland Storm women’s team lost both of their two games on day one but did impress in both outings putting themselves in a winning a position only to just come up short.
The Storm will play three games on Thursday.