Chris Burgess (born 23 April 1979) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach who is currently serving as an assistant coach of the Brigham Young University (BYU) men's basketball team. Burgess has held assistant coaching roles at three universities in Utah, including three years at BYU (from 2019 to 2022) prior to rejoining the staff in 2024. As a player, Burgess played

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and spent a decade playing professionally in the U.S. and internationally.

College career

Burgess was recruited by several high-profile programs out of high school, as the No. 1 recruit in the country and a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

. He narrowed his choices to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and BYU. He ultimately signed with the Blue Devils, later explaining that the opportunity to play for coach

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...

was a major deciding factor. Burgess played at Duke for two years, reaching the Elite Eight in 1998 and playing in the championship game in 1999. During both seasons, Burgess played a supporting role off the bench, averaging (freshman) 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, shooting 50.8% from the field, and playing 12.5 minutes a game; and averaging (sophomore) 5.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, shooting 61.4% from the field, and playing 15.6 minutes a game. Burgess subsequently transferred to the

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, but he suffered three different injuries. He averaged 7.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and shot 53.5% from the field while averaging 21.6 minutes a game his junior year. He averaged a team high in 5 statistical categories with 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and shot 66% from the field while averaging 25.5 minutes a game his senior year.

Professional playing career

Burgess was not drafted into the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played for the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a landlocked state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west; the state s ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

, after which he spent a decade between various professional teams based in Australia, Korea, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Turkey, and Ukraine. He also participated in training camps or summer leagues for several NBA teams including the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

, the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

, and the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

Coaching career

Burgess coached at

Utah Valley Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains the cities of Provo, Utah, Provo, Orem, Utah, Orem, and their suburbs, including Alpine, Utah, A ...

for four years before following coach

Mark Pope Mark Edward Pope (born September 11, 1972) is an American collegiate basketball coach and former player who is head men's basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, his alma matter. As a player, Pope played power forward and small forward ...

to BYU. Burgess coached at BYU for three years and then took the job at

. In 2024, Burgess returned to BYU as the lead assistant coach under new coach Kevin Young.

Personal life

Burgess is married to Lesa Zollinger of Millville, Utah; they have three daughters and two sons. He is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

References

External links

Chris Burgess
at

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 C ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Chris 1979 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American expatriate basketball people in the United Arab Emirates American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from California Zastal Zielona Góra players BC Donetsk players BYU Cougars men's basketball coaches Centers (basketball) Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Idaho Stampede (CBA) players Latter Day Saints from California McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards San Miguel Beermen players Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus players Utah Utes men's basketball players Utah Utes men's basketball coaches Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball coaches Criollos de Caguas basketball players Mets de Guaynabo basketball players Gigantes de Carolina (men's basketball) players Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California) alumni