[UH BASKETBALL]
Bob Burke was a head college basketball coach nearly 30 years. But he's excited about joining the Hawaii staff as an assistant. Wallace adds experience to staff
Star-Bulletin staff
Burke replaces Scott Rigot, who left the Rainbows for Kentucky last month.
"I'm really looking forward to coaching at UH," said Burke, who has been the head coach at Chowan (N.C.) College the past 22 years. "I have much respect for Coach (Riley) Wallace and his staff. I'm excited about what they had to say about the kids in regards to their work ethic and academics. The whole package is exciting to me, working in Hawaii and coaching at the Division I level. I'm looking forward to jumping in what they call that 'Circle of Excellence.' "
Wallace said Burke's duties will be similar to Rigot's: recruiting and on-court coaching.
"He's been a professional friend for a long time," Wallace said.
With the addition of Burke, the Hawaii staff is one of the most experienced in the nation.
"I felt with our team having a chance to be very good in the next couple years, that we wanted to put someone in that position with his experience," Wallace said.
Chowan was a junior college for the first 13 years Burke was there, and then became an NCAA Division III school. Among the players he coached was former NBA standout and current Seattle Supersonics coach Nate McMillan.
In 1971, Burke, at age 25, became the nation's youngest head coach when he was hired at Greensboro College. He was an assistant at Campbell and Guilford from 1975 to 1978 before moving on to Chowan, where he put together a 419-217 record.
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