Mark Turgeon makes second hire on UMKC staff. He’s a former JUCO head coach
The message from Day 1 of Mark Turgeon’s UMKC tenure has been stocking the program with local players. He’s adding local coaches to the mix as well.
Former local junior college head coach Brandon Burgette is set to join Turgeon’s first staff as an assistant, once details are finalized.
This addition comes as the Roos have secured four high school commits on the recruiting trail, the first steps to filling out their roster.
Burgette recently finished his seventh season as the head coach at Kansas City Kansas Community College. He led the program to two conference and regional championships and collected two coach of the year awards.
The Lee’s Summit North alum was a longtime assistant with stints at Johnson County CC and Indian Hills CC before leading the Blue Devils. He was one of several local coaches considered for the job.
Burgette, 40, played collegiately at Southwest Baptist University and won back-to-back MIAA titles in 2008 and 2009.
He is excited to join Turgeon and Turgeon’s son, Will, on the Roos’ staff, working to make UMKC a reflection of the area’s high-end hoops talent.
“I don’t think coaches in the past have believed. They just say, ‘Oh, we can’t get those type of kids,’” Burgette told The Star. “But if you build relationships and you do your job and you grind it and you work, I think ... you can persuade guys to change that culture and change the narrative.”
