Sitting on a riser in full uniform in the Al McGuire Center, Deonte Burton’s shoulders were rounded, his hands clasped together as he answered questions about his upcoming sophomore campaign. It was Marquette University’s media day, and Burton would lift his head slightly, his succinct sentences delivered in monotone.

Very little was flashy about the afternoon for the 19-year-old. He didn’t belabor a thought.

He said it, and that was it.

Like this self-evaluation of his summer.

"I feel like I had a good offseason," he said. "I got a lot better. I worked on things that I needed to work on, that were weaknesses, so I’m getting them to be more adequate."

So that’s that.

But his game is far from muffled.

Thunderous, might be a good description.

.@DeeBurton30 goes up over 6-11 @Bigfishy40 -- knew it had to be good when the @MarquetteWBB players ran ov... https://t.co/TfJsyRYSrR — Jim Owczarski (@JimOwczarski) October 11, 2014

Burton averaged a hair under seven points in 12.6 minutes per game last year for the Golden Eagles, shooting 47.8 percent from the field. He could get to the rim at will, but as the season wore on teams knew the left-hander really only had one way to finish. That, and the fact that the 240-pounder had issues maintaining his explosiveness throughout games, and the year.

So what were the weaknesses made to be more adequate?

"First, it was my conditioning," Burton said flatly. "I wasn’t in the best of shape, or in the shape that I wanted to be in. And the second thing was my right hand. I’m trying to get more comfortable with it."

He’ll have to display an improvement in those areas for the Golden Eagles, as he is one of just nine who are eligible to play over the course of the next month. But his flashes in the summer, and his improvement, led his new head coach to say the following:

"We hope for a breakout year for Deonte," Steve Wojciechowski said, rather candidly. "He’s a kid who’s an outstanding talent. He’s a very unique athlete in that he’s got great quickness and speed and he’s very strong. He’s unique in that way. But I think he’s got a knack for scoring the basketball. His challenge continues to be doing it on a day-to-day basis. In order to be a really good to great college player those guys bring it every day. Those guys bring it every day. I think Deonte has challenged himself to do that. But certainly he’s a guy, if we’re going to have a really good season, he’s got to be a big part of that."

The public was able to see glimpses of that, in a 17-point effort in an exhibition route of Wisconsin Lutheran on Nov. 8 and a 10-point in 12 minutes showing in the season opener against the University of Tennessee-Martin on Friday night.

But there is something more to Burton’s game this year than just steady improvement, the natural jump in skill from a freshman to sophomore season. Something greater.

Barbara Burton lost her long battle with breast cancer before the start of the year, a loss that not only sent reverberations through the Golden Eagles basketball family, but one that only strengthened the bond the group had begun to build after Wojciechowski’s hiring in early April.

"I feel like the whole team has got his back," said Duane Wilson, who has been friends with Burton for nearly a decade. "He doesn’t have to worry about (us). He knows he has a second family. He knows he’s got coach ‘Wojo’ there for him, the whole coaching staff. And even the day his mom passed, the first thing he did was text us and let us know. We were all there for him. Everybody pretty much told him ‘you can share my mom.’ We’re all there for him. We’re a family."

If Burton had to miss a workout or practice to go home, or if his natural placidity felt more morose, there were no questions as to why, no worries about his commitment to basketball or the university, only support and love.

"Dealing with my momma and her breast cancer, it was tough," Burton said. "But everything happens for a reason. God has a plan for everything. So, I’m just giving it … I’m just trusting in his judgment."

His eyes widened a bit during that comment, but it was just a moment. He voice didn’t rise, or crack, or soften. He didn’t change his body position, his hands remaining folded, his shoulders rounded.

"I mean, he’s the same person," Wilson said. "Some days he’ll have his days where he really don’t want to talk, but that’s Deonte. Deonte’s always that stubborn guy, that tough guy that would never show emotion, but I mean, he’s a strong guy losing his mother. I don’t know what I would do if I was to lose my mother."

While on the surface it may have seemed that a coaching change during that time would’ve been ill-suited for Burton, it had the opposite effect. Especially because of the family-first culture Wojciechowski and his staff has begun to foster within the program.

"It was perfect," Burton said. "It was the perfect thing, because he supported me in everything I did with regards to my mother. He supported me 100 percent."

Those around him feel that his mother’s influence, great as it was, will lift his play higher now from afar. Call it motivation, a determination or dedication, but his teammates and coaches know it’s something.

"I think this year you’re going to see a whole ‘nother monster, especially just with his mom passing, he’s going to be …" Wilson said, before searching for the right words.

"Like last year you saw a buzz, little bits and pieces, but I think you’re going to see the full throttle Deonte Burton."