NBA Rookies - Trey Burke Is Utah's Point Guard Of The Future; Inconsistent Rivals Place Former Wolverine At The Top Of Rookie Rankings

The 2013 NBA Draft is one of the worst in recent years. The tanking season has also placed some of the talents 'on hold.' The crazy season has seen one future star rise above the madness: Trey Burke of the Utah Jazz.

The former College Player of the Year played for the Michigan Wolverines and reached all the way to the Finals, losing to the inspired Louisville Cardinals. Burke stood out as an NBA grade point guard, and the Utah Jazz scored a key move when they traded their two first round picks to the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire him.

The early frontrunners Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers and Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic are struggling, with MCW also missing games due to injuries.

Trey Burke rose to the top of ESPN's Rookie Rankings. He started the season with an injury, but his patience and persistence paid off. Despite being short in size and not being an explosive talent, he rose to the top by making the right decisions. He recently had an interview with NBA.com's Hangtime blog:

"NBA.com: You spend your whole life dreaming about playing in the NBA and then you have to sit and watch the first 12 games with the busted finger. What did it look like watching your dream unfold from the sidelines like that?

Trey Burke: A lot of people would have expected me to be down or something like that. But I tried to stay as positive as possible at that time. I knew that when I came back I was going to have an opportunity to play and make an impact, so I tried to do everything I could from taking care of my body to staying in shape to eating right and preparing myself in every way I could to perform right away.

NBA.com: You actually delayed your NBA debut by a year. You could have entered the Draft after your freshman season at Michigan but chose to go back for another year. What did you hear and where from, that made you stay in school another year?

TB: The people that I trusted, the people in my corner, what they were saying sounded accurate in terms of what I needed to work on to improve my stock and be ready for the NBA. Me, I obviously wanted to get to the NBA as fast as I could, I dreamed about it my whole life. But I needed another year to mature and get better, not only the basketball court but off the court. I needed the maturity. I needed the life experiences. I needed that extra year of college. And it worked out for the best really. Had I come out after my freshman year, who knows where I would be now. I might have been a late first, early second or mid-second round pick. I'll never know. But going back to school, making that Final Four run we made at Michigan, I think looking back it was definitely the right decision."