Wheeling Central’s Burlenski Nominated For McDonald’s All-American Basketball Team
Nick Henthorn Trending
WHEELING - Wheeling Central senior point guard Quinton Burlenski was nominated Tuesday for a chance to play in the 2024 McDonald's All-American Games on April 2 at Toyota Center in Houston.
"It's a big accomplishment for me, having my name in with other guys around the country, and in a small group in the state," Burlenski said.
Burlenski was one of five players from West Virginia nominated, alongside Zion Blevins from Chapmanville, Cole Joy and Jackson Smith from Parkersburg South, and Sharron Young from Morgantown.
Burlenski has captained a 10-2 Maroon Knights team that made a run to the state tournament last season.
The field general on offense and leader in the huddle, Burlenski All-American qualities go beyond his abilities with the basketball.
"It's not just this year," Stephens said of Burlenski. "Ever since he's come here he's worked extremely hard. With no seniors last year, we needed some underclassmen to step up and fill a leadership role and he was one of the guys that did that.
"He's not real vocal, but the kids see him in the gym constantly, he's constantly working on getting better, and that kind of leadership goes a long way."
"Just being consistent mainly, on the court and also off the court, in the classroom," Burlenski said of his success.
Burlenski set goals for this year, for himself and his team, but being nominated for a spot on the All-American team was not something he had considered.
"It really wasn't even in my mind," Burlenski said. "I saw I got tagged in something on Instagram and I found out, I just thought it was pretty cool."
The top 24 girls and 24 boys will be revealed Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 on ESPN's NBA Today between 3-4 p.m. ET and announced across ESPN's various social and digital platforms.