Sandringham, Victoria, July 2010 – As they stay in the hunt for back-to-back D-League championships, Sandringham will undoubtedly call on their premier big man to help get the Sabres across the line.

Sam Burum, a 6’7” Melbourne native, has been central to Sandringham’s D-League success in the last two seasons. As the Sabres swept all before them in last year’s competition, Burum was the team’s second highest scorer, averaging 12.8 points per game.

Importantly, his numbers are also up in areas that are not commonly associated with the 4-5 position. Burum is 50% behind the three point line, and also averages over one steal and one assist per game across the last two years.

But perhaps these figures are not surprising when it’s revealed who Sam admires as a player.

“Dirk Nowitzki has always been my favourite player. Like him, I’ve always tried to be a skilled forward than can play inside and outside, with big and small skills”

Reflecting his all-round ability, Sam’s best D-League game this season was possibly against Dandenong in round 14, when he had 32 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assits, 2 steals and a block.

This kind of output has seen Burum rewarded with seven games in the SEABL team, and the forward/centre contributed 12 points and 3 rebounds in 12:28 minutes against the Chargers in round 16.

It is easy to understand why Burums’ game is on the rise given that he has recently returned from a stint at a Division III College in the US.

Under the tutelage of Coach Chris Harney, Sam was the starting centre at St Mary’s of Maryland. Last season he averaged 9.9 points and 5.2 boards for a team that finished with a 26-4 overall record and took out the Division III Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Championship.

The Seahawks also progressed to the Sweet 16 in the Division III the NCAA tournament, before being bundled out by Franklin and Marshall University.

And while Burum would love to one day compete at the highest level, he remains focused on somewhat more immediate goals, “I have always wanted to play basketball professionally and it has been one of my goals to try and play in Australia or overseas. I am also about to enter my last year of college and I want to have a successful senior season.

“But right now my main goal is to help us win our last 3 games of the season, hopefully sneak into the playoffs and win back to back D-league titles. I just want to continue to try and play at the highest level I can.”