Steve Burtt Jr. has had a great career overseas, but no season quite as good as this past winter in Ukraine. Not only did the former Iona and Rice HS standout guard lead the league in scoring, he propelled Ferro-ZNTU Zaporozhye to a Ukrainian Cup title and a deep playoff run.
“I’ve always performed individually, but this year was sweeter because we excelled as a team,” Burtt Jr. said. … “It’s very important. I’m a competitor. You can ask anybody that knows me.”
The New York City streetball legend was a winner in high school and college, leading Iona into the NCAA tournament as a senior. And he brought that winning attitude with him to Zaporozhye, which hasn’t had much basketball success lately.
“We just jelled and did great things this year – for the team and for the city,” Burtt Jr. said. “They loved us, they appreciated everything we did. The games were always packed. We were always overselling the gym, because we had a small gym – the team never did anything. Now we’re winning, getting that exposure and everything. It got packed. It was almost like being at a Rucker game, because people had to stand up.”
Rucker Park is where Burtt Jr., 26, earned the nickname “Mr. 68” for the amount of points he scored there in a single game a few years ago – the third most in legendary court’s history. Just this past weekend, he dropped 43 points with nine 3-pointers for Warriors 4 Christ at Hoops in the Sun against Bingo’s All-Stars.
Growing up in Harlem, Burtt Jr. said he never expected to be the big name in streetball that he is. He was a superstar at Iona, too, following his his father’s footsteps. Steve Burtt Sr. is the school’s all-time leading scorer and the two have the most combined points of any father-son duo in NCAA history.
“Coming up under my dad, I always had that spotlight on me,” he said. “Guys were always watching me and fortunately I had a great, legendary teacher in my dad. … I never thought I’d be as big as I’m fortunate to be. But I just play one way and it’s been good to me.”
One of the things his dad taught him was to be a mimic, to pick up things from other players and make it his own. The 6-foot Burtt Jr. says he does that to this day.
“I’ve taken so much stuff from guys that I’ve seen on TV, guys out here,” he said. “You just take stuff and incorporate it into your own game and you make your own way. … I definitely look at Steve Nash for his court vision, the way he plays the pick and roll. I look at guys like Allen Iverson, because he was an undersized scorer. That’s something that I’ve manifested into, because just genetically I’m small.”
His size is probably the lone reason why Burtt Jr. isn’t in the NBA today. He has all the ingredients of a guard in the league – the quick first step, the 3-point prowess and the ability to create for teammates. But Burtt Jr. doesn’t mind. He cherishes years like he just had in Ukraine. He’s not knocking on the NBA’s door.
“That’s always the goal,” he said of the league. “But when you look you never find. I definitely believe in that saying. I just gotta stay humble, keep working hard. If it’s meant to happen for me, it will. But right now I’m having fun getting paid to do what I love to do.”