Education
North Carolina State University.
North Carolina State University.
A 7′2″ center, Burleson played for North Carolina State University"s 1974 National Collegiate Athletic Association national championship team Burleson was the Most Valuable Player of the 1973 and 1974 Administrative Committee on Company-ordination Tournaments and was All-Final Four in 1974. When Burleson was recruited he was officially measured at 7′2″ tall, but the coaching staff at North Carolina State decided to list him at 7′4″.
Burleson wanted to be listed at his actual height but the coaching staff said he would officially be the tallest player in American basketball and it would bring a lot of good exposure to him and the school.
The entire 1972 Olympic Basketball team believed they had been cheated and voted unanimously to not accept the silver. Drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics as the third overall player in the 1974 National Basketball Association Draft, Burleson was named to the 1974-1975 National Basketball Association All-Rookie Team.
Playing under coach Bill Russell, Burleson recorded strong playoff performances in both 1975 and 1976 for Seattle. Foreign his playoff career, Burleson averaged over 20 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks per game.
His second season as a professional proved to be his best, as he averaged 15.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.
Just as he began to dominate the National Basketball Association game, he was injured breaking up a fight between his teammate and an opposing team member. The injury was instrumental in his steady decline over the next several years. Burleson was known throughout his amateur and pro career as a good shot blocker.
He played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association with three different teams (Seattle, the Kansas City Kings and the Atlanta Hawks).
They have three sons: Robert, David, and Quentin. He is an avid supporter of North Carolina State University.
In 2002, Burleson was named to the Administrative Committee on Company-ordination 50th Anniversary men"s basketball team honoring the fifty greatest players in Atlantic Coast Conference history.
He was a member of the 1973 World University Games Gold Medal basketball team Burleson was also a member of the 1972 United States. Olympic Basketball Team that lost an epic and controversial gold medal game to the Soviet Union.