CHICAGO -- Two years ago when he chose to sign with Duke instead of BYU, Chris Burgess had no idea the furor it would cause.
A frustrated Roger Reid uttered his famous "you let eight million people down" quote and within a month was fired. The Cougars didn't win a game the rest of the year, and the BYU program has been down ever since.Burgess plays for one of the best programs in college basketball, but things haven't quite worked out like he planned.
"It's had its ups and it's had its downs,' said Burgess, after scoring three points in a 73-67 win Wednesday over Michigan State in the Great Eight tournament. "It was frustrating losing in the NCAAs and being away from my family last year. But it's a great university and I've had a great experience. I made a good decision."
When he first signed with Duke, Burgess talked about forgoing an LDS mission and perhaps turning pro after his second year with the Blue Devils. Now he says he "hopes" to play in the NBA and says he hasn't ruled out going on a mission.
Burgess didn't even make the starting lineup of a deep Duke team last year and mostly played mop-up duty. He averaged just 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds and shot a horrid 33.8 percent from the free throw line.
"It was humbling going from a huge fish in a small pond to a small fish in a huge pond," he said. Burgess had been a high school all-American at Woodside High in Irvine, Calif., and had his choice of any university in the country.
However, things have started looking up this year for Burgess. He has already started three games and has doubled last year's numbers, averaging 8.8 points and 7.7 rebounds. He's shooting 58 percent from the field and is much improved from the foul line where he is hitting 74 percent. "I'm ready to be a huge part of this team,' he said.
Burgess acknowledged he sometimes thinks what might have been if he'd gone to BYU instead of Duke. In fact he discussed it with Washington's Michael Johnson, another LDS athlete, on Tuesday.
"I love that school," he said. "My sister (Angela) plays for BYU and my brother's wife goes there. I still keep in touch with (BYU forward) Mekeli Wesley and I follow the team. I know they gave Arizona a good game and beat Denver the other night."
Burgess said he also considered attending the University of Utah, which was among his final choices.
"I really liked Utah," said Burgess, who is friends with Britton Johnsen, who is on an LDS mission. "I know if I'd gone to Utah they would have won it last year."
Burgess said he started thinking more about an LDS mission this summer when a lot of his friends started leaving on missions, including his best friend, who Burgess baptized after their senior year of high school. While he hasn't ruled it out, he doesn't know when he might go.
As for Reid, Burgess said he hasn't talked to the former BYU coach since the day he said no to BYU. And he said there are no hard feelings on his part.
"If I saw Roger Reid right now, I'd give him a big hug,' said Burgess. "We had a great relationship. Things just didn't work out."