Chris Burton ’15 was an outstanding forward in men's basketball from 2011-15. He was a part of two Little East Tournament titles, one Little East Regular Season Championship and played in the NCAA Div. III Men's Basketball Championship three times.
The New Rochelle, N.Y. native earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Rhode Island College in 2015.
He wrapped up his illustrious career at Rhode Island College playing in 112 games, starting 66 of them. He became the 32nd player in Rhode Island College men’s basketball history to reach the 1,000-point milestone, finishing with 1,111 points (9.9 ppg), the 22nd most in school history.
He totaled 632 rebounds (5.6 rpg), 151 assists (1.3 apg), 161 blocks (1.4 bpg) and 221 steals (1.9 spg).
As a senior in 2014-2015, Burton was named First Team All-Little East for the second consecutive season and was named to the league’s All-Defensive Team for the third straight year. He was selected as the team’s MVP. Burton played in 27 games, starting 25 of them. Burton averaged 14.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. He ranked fifth in the league in scoring and rebounding, first in steals and second in blocked shots. Burton led the team in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals on the season. He finished the season scoring in double figures on 21 occasions, while recording double-digit rebounds on seven occasions, highlighted by a 29-points, 13-rebound, six-steal and five-block effort against UMass Boston on Jan. 31.
He snagged a season-high 13 rebounds against Brockport on Nov. 15, and again against UMass Boston on Jan. 31. He handed out a season-best five assists at Keene State on Feb. 7 and against Western Connecticut on Feb. 10. Burton swatted a season-high five shots against Keene St. on Jan. 10 and again against UMass Boston on Jan. 31. His season-best, six-steal effort came against the Beacons on Jan. 31, and he recorded four steals in a game on seven separate occasions. Burton was the Little East Player of the Week and ECAC New England Co-Player of the Week once on the season.
As a junior in 2013-14, Burton was named First Team All-Little East and was also named to the league’s All-Defensive Team. He was also named the team’s MVP and the 2014 Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Burton played in 27 games, starting 19 of them, and led the team in minutes played (27.0 mpg). He averaged 12.0 points, a team-high 6.3 rebounds, a team-high 2.4 steals, 1.9 assists and a team-high 1.9 blocks per game. Burton led the LEC in steals, ranked third in blocked shots, and ninth in rebounding. He also ranked second on the Anchormen in scoring and third on the team in three-pointers with 24 on the year. Burton finished with 19 double-digit scoring efforts on the season, highlighted by a 27-point, 14-rebound outburst against Western Connecticut on Feb. 11.
He posted double digit rebounds on four occasions and pulled down a season-high 15 boards against Elms College on Dec. 5. Burton swiped a season-high six steals at UMass Dartmouth on Feb. 18, blocked five shots against Lasell on Nov. 21 and dished out five assists against Plymouth State on Feb. 22. He drained a season-high five three-pointers against Western Connecticut on Feb. 11 and connected on a season-high 10 free throws against UMass Dartmouth on Feb. 28. Burton was named the Little East Conference Player of the Week once on the season.
As a sophomore in 2012-13, he was named Second Team All-Little East and to the league’s All-Defensive Team. He played in 30 games, starting 21 of them. Burton averaged 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, a team-high 2.6 steals, a team-high 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists per game on the year. He led the LEC in steals, ranked fourth in blocked shots, seventh in rebounding and ninth in field goal percentage (.475). Burton reached double digits in scoring 19 times and recorded four double-doubles. He tallied a career-high 20 points against Clark University on Jan. 31. Burton also corralled a career-high 14 rebounds on Feb. 10 against Southern Maine, swiped a career-high eight steals against Keene State on Feb. 23, dished out a career-high five assists against Western Connecticut on Feb. 13 and blocked a season-high four shots on three occasions.
As a freshman in 2011-12, Burton played in 28 games, starting one of them. He averaged 2.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.5 steals per game, while registering 20 blocked shots on the year. Burton registered season-highs of 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists on Jan. 7 against UMass Boston, while blocking a season-high four shots on Jan. 28 against Eastern Connecticut. He also came up with a season-high three steals in a win over Brandeis on Nov. 27.
