Burlington high school brings back local legend to lead basketball team
By Noah Cierzan
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BURLINGTON, Vermont (WPTZ) — If you take a look at the Vermont high school sports history books, you’ll notice that one of the most successful boy’s basketball programs in the state’s history resides in the Queen City.
Burlington High School leads the Green Mountain State with 21 state championships in boys basketball. It’s quite an accomplishment, but lately, that’s not the sort of success the program has seen.
“Obviously, last year was rocky,” Burlington senior guard Khiem Nguyen said. Last season, the Seahorses went 3-16, including a first-round exit in the Divison 1 playdowns. But this year, Burlington is hoping things will be different with a new head man at the helm.
Former star BJ Robertson steps into the head coaching role after serving as an assistant with the program before. Robertson scored 1,412 as a four year starter at BHS from 1998 thru 2002, including a state championship win over Spaulding in 2001.
“He understands what Burlington basketball is all about,” said Quaron Pinckney, head of athletics for the Burlington School District. “For younger players seeing your coach’s name on the wall adds a nice element too.”
Pinckney hired Robertson after a rigorous head coaching search that included ten initial candidates. In the end, Robertson’s ability to connect with his players earned him the job.
“I’m just excited to be here,” said Robertson. “Back at my hometown, being able to coach these young kids and hopefully develop them to be good, good people in the long run.”
Robertson understands the wins won’t pile up overnight. But, with over 15 years of coaching experience at the youth level, he believes that balanced play can help the Seahorses find some success in year one.
“I think we’re going to be a pretty deep team,” Robertson said. “We have a lot of personnels and similar style play.”
Burlington starts the season off at its temporary home court this year at the University of Vermont. The Seahorses take on Spaulding, the same team Robertson beat in his state title win as a player, on Dec. 14 at Patrick Gymnasium.
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