Prospect Spotlight: Gabe Burkle (2022)
As is the case with just about any young post player you talk to these days, Gabe Burkle is hoping to develop his perimeter game this offseason.
The Cedar Rapids Prairie post has been showcasing his workmanlike and superbly efficient post-scoring since his high school career began. Now, the 6-foot-6 rising sophomore is hoping to become just as effective from the outside in.
“My best game is obviously in the post and if I’m not doing great in the post, I feel like I can take it out the the 3-point line and shoot it, or take them to the hole as well.” said Burkle.
“I want to be a dominant post, obviously, but I want to bring my game to the 3-point line where the game is played nowadays, and dominate there like I do in the post.”
Burkle was one of the more effective freshman varsity players in Class 4A last season, going for 5.8 points per game on 63% shooting for a 17-4 Prairie squad.
“I felt like I played pretty good, and really well towards the end of the season. I felt like my job on that team was to score, but I wasn’t the main guy on the team, which hasn’t really happened to me for a while,” Burkle said. “We had the Murray twins, and they were obviously very good, so I needed to get them the ball, but also play my game, too. I’ll have a bigger role next season, and I’ll be one of the main scorers.”
Meanwhile, Burkle will be spending his summer running with Martin Bros 15u. Burkle and the rest of his Bros teammates are on a June break now, but will get back after it come July.
“My goals would be to do my best and outperform the guys that I’m going against,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back on the court with Martin Bros and go win some tournaments.”
Also a football standout, Burkle is a tight end for the Hawks. He says he’s unsure right now which sport he prefers. He’s got a couple years yet to figure that out.
“(Football and basketball) are tied, they’re neck and neck with each other,” he said. “Basketball season I feel like my main sport is basketball, and football season I feel like my main sport is football, it just goes back and forth.”