Eric Burks

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Eric Burks

| image =

| career_number =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 4

| weight_lbs =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|2|22}}

| birth_place = Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| high_school = McNair (DeKalb County, Georgia)

| college =

Clemson (1990–1992)
Charleston Southern (1993–1995)

| draft_year = 1995

| career_start = 1996

| career_end = 2005

| career_position = Point guard

| years1 = 1996–1999

| team1 = London Leopards

| years2 = 1999–2000

| team2 = Milton Keynes Lions

| years3 = 2000–2001

| team3 = London Towers

| years4 = 2001–2002

| team4 = Thames Valley Tigers

| years5 = 2002

| team5 = SLUC Nancy Basket

| years6 = 2002

| team6 = Pallacanestro Pavia

| years7 = 2002

| team7 = Leicester Riders

| years8 = 2003

| team8 = Pallacanestro Pavia

| years9 = 2005

| team9 = Halcones de Guamúchil

| highlights =

BBL MVP (1998)
2× BBL champion (1997, 1998)
4× BBL All-Star (1997–2000)
Big South Player of the Year (1995)
First-team All-Big South (1995)
Second-team All-Big South (1994)
Big South tournament MVP (1995)

}}

Eric Burks (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He had a 10-year career, most of which was spent playing in the British Basketball League (BBL). Burks was a four-time BBL All-Star and one-time BBL MVP.

College

Burks enrolled in the fall of 1990 to suit up for the Clemson Tigers.{{cite news| last =Tomasson| first =Chris| title =Clemson's Burks faces toughest test in Anderson| newspaper =Spartanburg Herald-Journal| date =January 22, 1991| url =https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r7AeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=q84EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6482%2C2592104| format =PDF| accessdate = September 30, 2013}} In his freshman season he averaged 9.0 points per game in 20 games played, although he was cited as "erratic" at times.{{cite news| last =Sapakoff| first =Gene| title =Tigers' Young ineligible| newspaper =The Post and Courier| date =December 21, 1991| url =https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mKFbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=y1ENAAAAIBAJ&pg=2170%2C1946267| format =PDF| accessdate = September 30, 2013}} The following year, Burks left the school for personal reasons before the season began, although he returned midway through his sophomore year and was deemed eligible by the NCAA to play the rest of the 1991–92 season. Following his second season, he was named academically ineligible to play for Clemson.{{cite web| title =Clemson player ineligible| publisher =GoUpstate.com| date =August 20, 1992| url =http://www.goupstate.com/article/19920820/NEWS/208200301| accessdate = September 30, 2013}} Burks transferred schools and wound up at Charleston Southern University (CSU).

In 1992–93 he was forced to redshirt. When he became eligible to play for the Buccaneers in 1993–94, his junior season, Burks made an immediate impact. He was named a second team all-Big South Conference player as he led the school in scoring.{{cite web| title =Hall of Fame – Eric Burks| work =CSUsports.com| publisher =Charleston Southern University| year =2006| url =http://www.csusports.com/information/hall_of_fame/ericburks| accessdate =September 30, 2013| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213135/http://www.csusports.com/information/hall_of_fame/ericburks| archive-date =March 3, 2016| url-status =dead}} Then, in his senior season in 1994–95, he once again led the team in scoring but was named both a first team all-conference performer as well as the Big South Player of the Year. In just two seasons at CSU, Burks scored 1,139 points and averaged 20.3 points per game for his career (third all-time in school history). In 2006, he was named to the school's hall of fame.

Professional

Burks was undrafted in the 1995 NBA draft following his career as a collegian. He embarked on a professional career that saw him play for teams in Italy, Mexico, England, and France.{{cite web| title =Eric Burks profile| work =LatinBasket| publisher =Eurobasket, Inc.| date =| url =http://basketball.latinbasket.com/player/Eric_Burks/Halcones_de_Guamuchil/5304| accessdate = September 30, 2013}}{{cite web| title =Eric Burks Basketball Profile| work =Proballers| publisher =Momentum Productions Properties| date =| url =http://www.proballers.com/basket-ball-player/7733/eric-burks| accessdate = September 30, 2013}} His most successful seasons as a professional came while playing in the BBL. During his career in England, Burks won two league titles, one National Cup, was a four-time BBL All-Star and was the league's MVP in the 1997–98 season.{{cite web| title =Burks heads for the Valley| work =Sports| publisher =BBC| date =June 11, 2001| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/1383160.stm| accessdate = September 30, 2013}}{{cite news| last =Taylor| first =Richard| title =Leopards must wait on Burks| newspaper =The Independent| date =September 12, 1998| url =https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/basketball-leopards-must-wait-on-burks-1197635.html| accessdate = September 30, 2013}} Burks retired in 2005 after playing for Halcones de Guamúchil in Mexico.