If you’ve been watching Nevada basketball this season through all its changes it’d be impossible not to notice the ability and intangibles of one Deontè Burton.  The kid is everything he was cracked up to be coming out of high school, and then some.  In his latest issue of “Cannon Fodder”, Scott Daniel writes about Burton, the potential Western Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, who has been without question the driving force on the floor for David Carter’s Wolf Pack program.

“No way.”

Dad’s words drip with derision. His target: a hapless red-clad Fresno State guard in a defensive crouch at the top of the key. His name is irrelevant. In fact, it’s interchangeable. The embarrassment he is soon to suffer will be repeated by countless other WAC, and in the near future Mountain West, perimeter players over the coming seasons. He has committed a critical error.

He thinks he can guard Deontè Burton.

Deontè explodes left from a three-point position. Dribble. Stutter-step. Lift-off. Two anonymous bigs leap to swat the ball from the air. Not a chance. Untouchable. Kiss the glass, friend. Drop. Swish. Two points. The Lawlor Remnant erupts.

Dad, Section 9’s resident fiery fan, is already on his feet. “You can’t guard him!”

No. You can’t. But that isn’t Deonte’s most impressive moment in Thursday’s 79-76 win over the Bulldogs.

Burton’s ability to get to the hole is similar to James Harden, another LA area prospect who took college basketball by storm. So is his beard. (Photo by Mark Rauh of SilverandBlueSports.com)

Late in the first half, one in a long succession of Fresno State players steps to the free throw line. According to the guys in the Foot Locker unis, the Pack laid an onslaught of ticky-tack hurt on the ‘Dogs. Burton stands behind the shooter, visibly irritated with his hands on his hips. He turns his head to the Foot Locker nightshift manager to his left and strikes up a conversation.

I can’t make out what he’s saying, but I don’t need to. Context and body language are dead giveaways. Deontè is taking advantage of an opportunity to figure out what in the hell this guy sees every time he raises his hand and blows on his whistle. At this moment, Deonte is the hardwood equivalent of Buster Posey trying to figure out an unforgiving strike zone. He doesn’t bitch. He doesn’t moan. The nightshift manager responds in kind, and appears to appreciate the kid’s candor. The brief parlay ends with Burton nodding his head and shifting his attention back to the shooter.

I glance at the scoreboard. Deontè has no fouls. This isn’t about him.

He is taking responsibility for his teammates.

I think Deontè will be the first to admit that he played a (for him) subpar game on Thursday. Five critical turnovers, most on ill-advised passes into traffic, nearly overshadowed an otherwise laudable 17 points and 3 assists in 33 minutes of play. Yet from my observations in the peanut gallery, Burton didn’t hear the audible groans when a lacksidaisical pass led to an easy fast break transition for Fresno. His own inner coach was well ahead of them, drowning them out. I’m pretty sure that’s who chirped in his head when he slammed the ball to the ground in frustration after a particularly careless play. He knows before anyone else on the floor what has gone wrong…and what he personally needs to do to prevent it from happening again.

“He didn’t play his best game, that’s for sure,” Coach Carter confirmed to Silver and Blue Sports.  “He turned the ball over more than he normally has, and knows that sometimes that happens.

“But I think he’s getting better.  I know he’s getting better.  He knows the system better now, and he’s letting his talent work itself in to our system.  I told all the guys early on that there’s no way you are going to be successful if you don’t know what you are doing, but they are all getting it now.  They are learning what we want to do to win games.

“Deontè has really learned, and it is starting to show.  You look at his shot selection, how he’s becoming one of the most proficient shooters in our league, and how he’s finishing when he gets to the rim.

“That’s really the key with him.  He’s so good at that.  He can get better too.”

Burton and Carter, a pretty smooth guard himself back in the day, are leading the way for a resurgent Wolf Pack basketball program (Photo by Mark Rauh of SilverandBlueSports.com)

What a lot of you saw on Thursday, as Carter pointed out perfectly, was an off-night for the most talented player on the roster. But if you looked underneath the surface, you had the opportunity to see the budding leaves of a team leader as they sprouted to the surface. In the midst of a prosaic performance punctuated by the occasional highlight reel, you saw a young man — a true freshman and, according to a friend acquainted with him, a self-described “goofball” — silently taking upon himself the mantle of Alpha Wolf for this Baby Pack.

This, and not his smooth athleticism, is what will ultimately separate Deontè Burton from the likes of Armon Johnson and Ramon Sessions. As freshmen, Deonte’s predecessors at the point benefitted from the leadership presence of tournament-seasoned veterans like Marcelus Kemp and Kevinn Pinkney. Burton does not have that luxury. While the arrival of Olek Czyz and the emergence of a dominant paint player in Dario Hunt have eased the burden, the 19-year-old Compton native knows as he heads into the Logan lion’s den that it is still his to shoulder. Smart money says he’ll rise to the occasion.

This is the Dawning of the Age of Deonte. We are all witnesses.

*Let’s hope he sticks around to help us move to the Mountain.