| 11/17/2007 |
| Ames High's Burgason will play at Lipscomb |
| By Jeff Stell |
Burgason signed a national letter of intent Friday to accept a scholarship to play basketball at Lipscomb at Ames High School in front of family, friends, coaches and teammates. He was happy to have the recruiting process over and ready to look forward. "It felt good to get it out of the way and now just be able to focus in on our upcoming season and achieving some goals and some dreams," Burgason said. "The recruiting process is stressful because you've got coaches calling all the time and telling you things, and you don't know what to believe. "It's good to have my mind clear and not have that worry of where I'm going anymore." Burgason chose Lipscomb over William and Mary, Arkansas State, UNC-Charlotte and Air Force. Northern Iowa was showing real interest but hadn't made an offer yet. Lipscomb was the first school to offer Burgason a scholarship, and it was his first official visit. Burgason enjoyed everything about his trip to the school, which is located in Nashville, Tenn. "I went down there and loved the place," Burgason said. "They have an arena built in the last few years that seats 5,000 people and the place is all about basketball, no football. I would have a good chance of playing when I first get there. It just seemed like the perfect choice for me." Nashville is about 700 miles away from Ames, so Burgason will be far from home but distance wasn't a big factor in his decision. "I wanted to get out of Ames, get out of Iowa," Burgason said. "It's just an hour and a half flight or a 12-hour drive, and I'm going to be pretty much caught up in basketball anyways. "The school is in a beautiful area called the Green Hills where a lot of country music singers and multi-millionaires live so it's really nice. The campus is really upbeat and has a lot of new buildings." Lipscomb was in Ames last weekend playing in the Cyclone Challenge so Burgason got a chance to see his future team up close. "It was great seeing them come to Ames," Burgason said. "I've built a really good relationship with the coaches and players, and it was nice to see them and get a chance to hang out with them. I watched them practice and it was just being around a game situation." Lipscomb was 18-13 overall last season and tied for third in the Atlantic Sun Conference at 11-7. The Bisons lost both games they played in the Cyclone Challenge and are 0-4 after losing to Middle Tennessee State Friday night in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
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