Year graduated
1977
Major accomplishments
Averaged 21.3 points and 13 rebounds as a junior at Franklin Central, and 27.2 points and 12.5 rebounds as a senior; Dubbed “instant defense” by the late Al McGuire as a color analyst for NBC
After averaging 27.2 points a game in the 1976-77 season as a senior at Franklin Central High School in southern Marion County, Roger Burkman went to the University of Louisville where he became known as the player who provided the Cardinals with instant defense during their march to the 1980 NCAA championship at Indianapolis in Market Square Arena.
“Al McGuire gave me the nickname ‘instant defense’ on national TV and it stuck,” said Burkman, who became the athletic director in 2005 at Spalding University, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics school in Louisville. The late Al McGuire loved to immortalize players with signature nicknames.
“I didn’t score a lot of points in college,” said Burkman, who chose Louisville after spending a weekend with coach Denny Crum and his recruiting assistant, Bill Olsen, fishing, riding mini-bikes, and water skiing on the Ohio River. “Basically I was one of those guys who’d score off a steal, a rebound, or fast-break situation. I didn’t necessarily pull up and shoot the ball much, because you’ve gotta remember, there were a lot of guys on our team that could score [like Darrell Griffith, Derek Smith, Wiley Brown, and Rodney McCray].”
Burkman didn’t start a game in the magical season when the Cardinals went 33-3, and defeated Iowa, 80-72; and UCLA, 59-54, in the Final Four to earn Louisville its first NCAA title. He averaged just 3.9 points in 17.7 minutes a game. But his worth was far more telling in the little things he did when he came off the bench.
“Coach Crum had talked to me and said, ‘Look, I’ve gotta have a coach on the floor,’” said Burkman. “It’s somebody who’s going to keep those guys in the game happy, and make sure they’re where they’re supposed to be in the offense, and distributing the ball to them. I had to sacrifice that part, not that I couldn’t score. In fact, there were certain games I got the ball to score, because I was such a good free throw shooter. The bottom line is the reason I didn’t score in college is because I didn’t shoot the ball. Sometimes I might shoot two or three times a game. That’s the role that [Crum] wanted me to play.”
Burkman’s worth was never more evident than in the Cardinals’ 86-66 victory over top-seeded LSU in the Midwest Regional championship game at Houston that sent his team to the Final Four. He played 26 minutes, had eight points, seven assists, and only one turnover.
“When we went out to warm up, there was a whole section of LSU students, I think mostly football players, sitting at our end of the floor,” said Burkman. “They called us ‘Wildcat rejects.’ Wildcats, of course, is the nickname for the University of Kentucky. Boy, those were fightin’ words. I actually felt like sending those LSU students a thank you card, because that was real motivation for us.”
“And Jim got a bath after that game,” continued Burkman, referring to Jim Terhune, who covered the Cardinals for the Louisville Times. Terhune had picked LSU to beat Louisville, and his “prize” was to be thrown in the shower by the Cardinal players.
“You’ve gotta remember, Jim traveled with us all year,” said Burkman. “He was like one of the gang.”
Burkman remembers that he had to “beg, borrow and steal” about 20 tickets for the Final Four for his high school coach Norm Starkey, parents, brother Bill, and other family members along with some friends.
That championship was “the pinnacle of my career,” says Burkman, and he remains immensely proud of his Al McGuire-inspired nickname. “The fans knew that once I stepped on the floor that something was going to happen. We were going to pick the tempo up defensively and get after people.”
Burkman, 48, who lived in Acton, Indiana, while growing up, was born at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, Indiana, “in the heart of Hoosier Hysteria.” Burkman’s basketball career started early when his father, Elvin, and older brother, Bill, cut the center out of an old tire rim and nailed it to the side of the garage. Burkman began to shoot at the tire rim at about age four with a volleyball or kickball.
“It was a typical old garage painted white,” said Burkman, “and as I grew, I was introduced to the wall when I played my brother, ‘cause he’d smash me into it. I’d be covered by white paint a lot. Having Bill kind of tutoring me through the years, and playing with him and some of his friends made me a lot tougher; made me a better player.”
Burkman played freshman and junior varsity basketball his first season at Franklin Central. In the summer before his sophomore season, Burkman played one-on-one against a Flashes player who had just graduated and was going to Purdue. Unbeknownst to Burkman, coach Starkey was watching.
“It was a battle, and I ended up winning,” said Burkman. “When the season rolled around, I was thinking I would just be a jayvee player. Coach Starkey said, ‘You’re going to be a varsity player, son.’”
As a junior, Burkman averaged 21.3 points and 13 rebounds. His senior totals were 27.2 and 12.5. Burkman was the state’s leading scorer for a while that season, but did not make the Indiana All-Star team. The Flashes lost to Indianapolis Marshall, which produced David “Pancho” Wright, a teammate of Burkman’s at Louisville who became known for instant offense in 1979-80, in the sectional. That might have hurt his All-Star chances.
“That was probably the biggest disappointment in my career,” said Burkman. “But you know what? Things happen for a reason. From the moment I was born, God blessed me with a great family, great parents and my teachers and coaches through the years. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
During the season Wright uttered the following phrase that came true, even though at the time it seemed just wishful thinking: “The Ville is going to the Nap,” meaning Louisville is going to Indianapolis for the Final Four. Burkman says he had more college offers “than you might think. There were tons and tons of little schools.” He also was recruited by Purdue, Indiana, Louisville, Evansville, and Wyoming, in addition to receiving calls from UCLA and Hawaii, but they were too far from home.
“I thought all along my senior year that I was going to go to Purdue,” said the 6’5” Burkman. But Louisville came on really strong. Burkman had been recommended to the Louisville coaching staff by Rudy Mueller of Indianapolis, a Cardinal alum who had seen Burkman play well in a losing effort as a high school sophomore. Mueller introduced himself to Burkman, who had his head down, and said, “Son, keep your head up. You’ve got a bright future.” The next thing Burkman knew Louisville was recruiting him.
After his senior season at Louisville, Burkman scored well in several all-star games and was picked by the Chicago Bulls in the sixth round of the NBA draft. He did well enough in preseason games to make the squad, but learned he had been waived after playing in just six games and scoring five points (all free throws) while listening to the radio following a Christmas shopping trip.
“Once the season started, I didn’t get a chance to play,” he said. “You know why? Guaranteed contracts. I didn’t have one.” Burkman finished the season playing for the CBA team in Anchorage, Alaska.
The Indiana Pacers invited Burkman to try out, and he thought he was going to Los Angeles for summer league competition. Unfortunately, the trip was canceled due to a budget cut, so Burkman took a position as a grad assistant on Crum’s staff. He remained on the staff a year, before joining the sales staff of Pepsi-Cola in Louisville—a position that he held for six years. For the next ten years, Burkman worked in development for DeSales and Trinity high schools in Louisville.
Of his position at Spalding University, Burkman says, “I really enjoy the administrative end of athletics. We’re a very strong academic school and we’re hoping to move to NCAA Division III. Basketball has been a tool that God provided me, and I’ve used it to get an education and to meet a lot of nice people. And you better believe that I am a Louisville Cardinal season-ticket holder.”