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While playing for the Diamond Valley Eagles, Hayley Sparks dreaded playing against the Eltham Wildcats. Sparks hated having to defend the “tall curly haired” girl who always shot the lights out and was a “nightmare to guard.” Sparks was referring to Sophie Burrows.

So, when Burrows joined Diamond Valley in 2020, Sparks was relieved to not be on the receiving end of her 3-point barrages anymore.

“I could just remember being like, ‘Oh, we have to play Eltham and that curly headed girl…she just shot the ball in my face all the time,’” Sparks said.

Burrows has always been known for her 3-point shooting, constantly working to develop her stroke. With her quick release and consistent form, teammates and coaches said that Burrows’ shot is “the same every time.” While playing for Diamond Valley in Australia’s National Basketball League, Burrows’ shooting attracted multiple Division I offers before she eventually chose Syracuse. The freshman has shown flashes through the first month of the season, including a 13-point performance against Central Connecticut on Nov. 10.

Sparks remembered Burrows often arriving early to Eagles’ practices. And before practice, Burrows individually worked out with Victoria Metro — a local state team — to get more shots up.

With Burrows’ commitment to her craft, Sparks wasn’t surprised by her success.

“I was consistent because I love the game of basketball. I enjoyed practice and training,” Burrows said. “You don’t get to get to the games without the practice… and having a good support system definitely helped me.”

But in Burrows’ debut year with Diamond Valley, COVID-19 paused the season. Burrows said basketball gave her an “outlet” while waiting for play to start up again. She had virtual practice sessions with Diamond Valley and got in individual work, but also worked out with her sisters.
Burrows initiated shooting sessions with her two sisters, Ruth and Anna, spending hours on their backyard court practicing catching-and-shooting and one-dribble pull-ups. Burrows’ family remodeled their setup, expanding it to have a 3-point arc.

“The timing was excellent,” said Burrows’ mother, Sarah. “I spent a lot of hours out there rebounding many shots for her. COVID was hard, mentally to be locked in the house and not playing.”

According to Ruth, Burrows gave her sisters tips on their shooting form during their backyard training. Ruth said they worked on a variety of shooting scenarios, often imitating rising up for a jumper after coming off a screen. Toward the end of a session, Burrows challenged her sisters to make anywhere from 10-to-30 shots in a row before they could go inside.

Burrows’ shooting success is rooted in her form, which she practices before every workout. She starts right under the basket, focusing on keeping her elbow square, slowly moving back until she hits the 3-point line.

In 2022, Burrows entered her second season on Diamond Valley’s senior team, which had recently hired a new coach, Deanne Butler. When Butler arrived, she said that people within the club wanted her to call Burrows, who was “hotly sought after” by other NBL 1 clubs, and convince her to return. After Butler reached out, Burrows opted to stick with Diamond Valley.

Butler said that when she first started coaching Burrows, her footwork was a little slow. She joked that when Burrows ran, it looked like she was laboring. During one of their first games, Butler asked Burrows if she was alright. Burrows looked at Butler as if she asked a ridiculous question.

Sophie Burrows hits a three for our first points of the game… again :sunglasses:

:tv: https://t.co/78G6WAHvdm pic.twitter.com/BBpPs6ZjfW

— 'Cuse Hoops (@CuseWBB) November 16, 2023

Over time, Butler said that Burrows’ footwork became consistent when setting herself to shoot. Her improved footwork helped her as teams tried to take away her 3-point shot. When teams quickly closed out on her, Burrows aggressively attacked with ball fakes, stepping forward to utilize a move called a throwdown — a variation of a crossover taught in Australia.

Burrows said the move helps her not travel when facing a closeout. Sparks said that Burrows is very good at “taking what the defense gives her” along with processing information quickly.

“If teams are scanning me as a shooter, they’re going to close out hard so I have to be able to read their feet and get into the lane, use my body a little bit or pull up for that jump shot,” Burrows said.

Standing at 6-foot-2, Burrows benefits from her size by playing shooting guard. If she’s guarded by a smaller player, Burrows can easily shoot over them. But if the opposing team opts to put a bigger player on her, she can drive by them and finish in the lane.

Butler said Burrows’ balance allows her to be in control while also calling her a crafty finisher at the rim, often using her strength to finish through contact for and-ones.

As one of Diamond Valley’s younger players, Butler said Burrows struggled to develop confidence in taking tough shots. But Butler progressively noticed her improvement.

“Sometimes these kids sort of rely on coaches to come in and feel they’ll get enough shots up in practice, but with Sophie she would take it upon herself to do that in her own time,” Butler said.

If Burrows had an off-shooting night, she would be frustrated. But the coaching staff challenged her to impact the game in other aspects like driving, rebounding and defending.

Now with Syracuse, shots have been hard to come by with Dyaisha Fair, Georgia Woolley and Alaina Rice taking the bulk of the attempts. Burrows said she’s still getting used to her new teammates, but always has her knees bent, ready to fire up a shot if she receives the ball.

“With Georgia back it’s hard to find as many minutes as everybody wants, but if (Burrows) can stay true to the task and continue to grow and learn from the three guards that we have, she’s going to be a dominant player later on,” said Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack.

Published on November 30, 2023 at 12:11 am

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22