Bio

Brent Burris recently completed his second season on the Eastern Nazarene men’s basketball coaching staff after spending four years at Indiana University-East, where he was a scholarship athlete on the men’s basketball team for the Red Wolves.

In his second season with the team, Burris helped guide the Lions to the program's best season since 1996-97 as they returned to the CCC Playoffs for the first time since 2003-04. Eastern Nazarene posted an 18-9 overall record with an 11-7 mark in the league in 2012-13 and reached the semifinals of the CCC Tournament after hosting its first playoff game in 12 years.

In 2012-13, freshman Jaylen Owens was tabbed the Commonwealth Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and seniro Chima Ezeigbo earned a spot on the All-CCC first team in 2012-13.

Burris, who hails from Indianapolis, Indiana, made the journey to Massachusetts in order to begin his coaching career under ENC’s head coach Jim Aller, who boasts 20 years of experience in the field.

“I think that my recent experience as a player will help me relate to the players at Eastern Nazarene and what we are trying to do as team and as a program,” Burris said.  “I am excited about the transition into coaching and am looking forward to working with and learning from Coach Aller.”

During his career, Burris played an integral part in propelling IUE toward NAIA powerhouse status. His team qualified for the national tournament during his senior season, marking the first time in program history that an IU East squad made an appearance in the tournament.

Burris was a record-slayer in his time at IUE, becoming just the second player in program history to score 1,000 points in his career, finishing with an impressive 1,151. He owns the school record for most minutes played with 2,842 and most games played, participating in 115. Additionally, Burris stands as the all-time leader in career steals (202) and assists (392). The combo guard also racked up 446 rebounds, proving his versatility on the court.

“As a player, Brent knows what it takes to build a successful basketball program,” Aller said. “Having just played at a program that experienced great improvement during his four years there, I am confident that he will help us as we continue our journey of growth as a team at ENC.”

Academically, the former home-school student excelled, earning NAIA Scholar-Athlete accolades, which are awarded to student-athletes with grade point averages of 3.5 and above. He was also a Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference team selection.

Burris obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from IUE in 2011.

“We are very excited to have Brent join the ENC community,” Aller said. “Having coached him at IUE, I was impressed by his determination and ability as a player, his dedication as a student and his character in the community.”

Burris resides in Quincy, Mass.