Prospect Profile: Damontae Burns (2021 Parkrose/Rose City Rebels 15U)
SEI held its annual high school camp last week and the majority of the city’s top players were in the gym. With that said it was no surprise that Damontae Burns was there. The athletic 6-foot, 160-pound guard from Parkrose best known as “Tay Tay” is among the best when it comes to Oregon’s ultra-talented Class of 2021 and he used the week to not only shine with his play, but take in plenty of knowledge as well.
“It was a good week and I learned a lot of new things from a lot of people,” Burns said. “It felt good to show off my game. There were a lot of eyes on me and one thing they told me was that you never lose in the gym.”
Burns got to show off what he was with the Rose City Rebels 15U squad all summer – a highly athletic guard who can score by hitting the three or get to the basket, but can also use his quickness to be a defensive pest. He did this all while helping his team win games. “I think we had one of the top ten, top five teams in the country – the best team from around here in my opinion,” Burns said. “It was fun playing with all those guys and it was good playing with other good players. I learned a lot from Coach (Robert) Key. He did a lot for me and everybody – we taught each other a lot of stuff.”
The Rebels, despite being a 15U team, certainly got some attention on the road as college coaches did watch them play. It’s a little early in the recruiting process specifically for Burns, but he notes that some of the in-state schools have been in contact – notably Portland State which recently hosted him at Elite Camp. But other than that, he’s keeping things wide open while aiming high.
“Just whatever coach believes in me and takes a chance with me, I’m going to ride with him,” Burns said. “But of course, D-I is the plan.”
Burns largely played the two with the Rebels so at his size, he knows he needs to further develop his lead guard skills – something he’ll be playing this year at Parkrose. “I’ve worked on my shot tremendously the last couple of years, so I’m working on ball handling,” Burns said. “When I’m playing high school ball, I’m playing point guard and I’ll be running the show. I plan on us winning state this year – that’s the goal and plan and we’ll see if we can get it done.”