Five Questions: Deondre Burns

LITTLE ROCK – Deondre Burns enters his sophomore season as one of eight returning lettermen from Little Rock's record-setting 2015-16 team.
 
Playing behind Josh Hagins, Marcus Johnson Jr. and Jermaine Ruttley – two All-Sun Belt performers and a former double-digit scorer – Burns appeared in 18 games with one start in 2015-16. He made all 12 of his free throws on the season. The Newman-Smith High School product scored a season-high seven points vs. Centenary on Nov. 18.
 
Burns was an honor roll student and led Texas' 5A classification in scoring as a senior at Newman-Smith.
 
What was the biggest lesson you took from last season?
 
I learned the most from the loss at ULM. That loss brought us back down to earth; it humbled us in a way.
 
Twenty years from now, which moments will stand out the most from last season?
 
The Purdue win – all the excitement from the crowd – and the comeback the last five minutes. It was crazy. Around the seven-minute mark I started stretching. I was thinking, "I'm about to have to go in." But then he, Josh, made that 3 in the corner, and then another, and he just kept going. I wasn't surprised by Josh, he does that all the time. Just the same as he would in practice.
 
What have you worked on most in the off season?
 
Ball-handling and my pace on the court. Last year I always just went fast, fast, fast. I had to learn how to change speeds, take things slow and then speed up. Overall, I worked on being more confident with my ball-handling.
 
What gets you hyped up for a game?
 
The game itself gets me hyped, but listening to Lil' Wayne, J. Cole, or Beyoncé before every game is a must.
 
What's something you do that most people don't know about you?
 
Well, in high school I did volunteer work. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I had sixth and seventh period off, so I would go help the teachers with the kids that had disabilities.