Before last season, Ohio redshirt freshman Jesse Burris hadn’t gone months without playing basketball for 12 years. He grew up training with professionals, competing against older players and becoming Delaware Hayes (Ohio) High School’s all-time leading scorer. Burris’ eventual spot on an NCAA Division I roster in Ohio came as no surprise.
It was a dress rehearsal. Just days before Ohio’s first game of the 2024-25 season, a Nov. 4 matchup against James Madison, coach Jeff Boals was conducting his last preseason practice on The Convocation Center floor when Burris, a three-star freshman, came down awkwardly on his ankle.
Burris first thought it was a routine sprain. He was taken off the court and evaluated, only to find out it was anything but. The next week, Burris had surgery and spent the next several months in a boot, riding around the hills of Athens, Ohio, on a scooter. He broke his foot, and his true freshman season was over.
After the shock of the diagnosis subsided, Burris reflected. His love for the game came to the forefront like never before as he realized how long it would be before he could return to the floor. He lost what had always defined him, and the wait to get it back seemed to last forever. In time, though, the positives eventually revealed themselves.
“I was already thinking about redshirting, and seeing how that would have been for me, so I guess (the injury) took that weight off my shoulders,” Burris said. “I didn’t really have a choice anymore … So, I think honestly, it’s going to be better for me in the long run.”
A month after the break, Burris traded in his cast for a boot and gained the freedom to get back to work. Basketball itself was still off the table, but Burris was with his teammates whenever possible, riding a stationary bike, working with trainers and putting in time in the weight room.
Burris was attentive, too. Sitting on the sidelines during games, he talked to the coaches as much as possible, learning the game from the bench by picking up details he could apply at a later date. Gradually, the game slowed down for him, reflecting a change in process.
“If you’re sitting on the bench, you hear a lot of different stuff from what the coaches say versus when you’re actually on court playing,” Burris said. “Being able to hear, ‘OK, this coach really focuses on this,’ or, ‘this coach likes this more,’ allows me, when I’m on the court, to have that in the back of my mind.”
The downside reared its head in March. Burris was fully healthy, ready to contribute, but he had already declared his redshirt. There was no going back. And when Ohio took on Toledo in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, losing in overtime, Burris sat on the bench.
“I definitely feel like I could have helped the team,” Burris said.
Burris will have the opportunity to grow into Ohio’s rotation in 2025-26. Since coming back from injury, Burris has reshaped his body and game, putting it on full display in a homecoming-of-sorts at the Kingdom Summer League in Columbus, where Burris took home MVP and two Player of the Week awards.
While much has changed since Burris last took the court in an official season, one thing hasn’t: Burris can make a shot. In the Kingdom League, Burris scored 40, 37 and 33 in explosive shooting performances, evolving from just a guy when he first started playing in the league two summers ago to the guy.
The performance is not just a symbolic full circle, but a mark that Burris is all the way back. With Ohio’s season opener in The Convo set for Nov. 3, Burris is looking to make his first official impression in the Green & White sooner rather than later, with big goals in mind.
“I’m just ready to get back on the court,” Burris said. “I would love to win Freshman of the Year … but at the end of the day, I want to be able to help my team win. Go to the NCAA Tournament, win the MAC Championship, all that.”
