Burkle reached 1,000 career points as head Coach Ray Shovlain earned his 500th win.

Buckle earns place in SAU record books

By: Alex Washington

Posted: 2/4/10

Despite missing just over 20 games in his four years as a Fighting Bee, and with not much time left in his career, senior forward Alex Burkle has reached a milestone that will place him in Fighting Bee history.
Burkle scored his 1000th point as a Bee in a contest against the Waldorf Warriors on Jan. 2. Only teammates and a handful of fans knew that Burkle was only 13 points shy of reaching a milestone that almost every college basketball player hopes to accomplish within their four years. The 6-foot-6-inch forward definitely had his mind set on having a great four years in Coach Ray Shovlain's program.
"Sticking with it all four years is something I pride myself on," Burkle said. "I had high expectations for myself coming in to play because I knew it was a level of competition where I knew I could improve and play against some big time players. I was ready to come and help the team out in any way possible."
It seems like just yesterday Burkle was in his freshmen year, awing Fighting Bee fans and showing off his potential to the coaching staff.
In Burkle's debut as a Bee, he recorded 21 points against NCAA division one DePaul University and NBA star Wilson Chandler. Although Burkle was expected to perform well that game, he still caught everyone off guard by nailing five three pointers, which is rather unheard of by a post player. While many people may have been surprised by that performance, teammates and coaches were not.
"21 points against DePaul was pretty cool," Burkle said.
Since Burkle's freshmen year there has been high hopes for him.
"The coaches expected me to perform right away," Burkle said. "It's good to come in and be an impact player right away."
His 1000 points is not the only honor he has to hang his hat on. Burkle is a two-year captain with a few individual accolades acquired from over the years.
In his freshmen year, he made MVP at the St. Xavier Christmas tournament and has also made All-Conference Honorable mention three years straight.
It's most impressive how Alex Burkle was able to leave his mark, regardless of not playing in 21 games total thus far in his career.
The senior from Crystal Lake, Illinois is a match-up problem for many teams in the conference. His power and soft touch on the ball creates a mismatch for the opponents around the conference. But it hasn't all been easy for the talented Bee.
"There's been a lot of adversity that I've had to overcome and it's nice to have something to show that I made a good dent in the record books," Burkle said.
Burkle recently surpassed friend and former Fighting Bee Adam Fahrenkrog in point total.
In Burkle's last days as an active Fighting Bee, he's trying to set an example to younger players by walking the walk.
"If I had to give any advice it would be to enjoy your time here and lead by example," he said. "Be an everyday player and be ready to work hard at whatever you do."