Jones Announces Robert Burke as Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

WASHINGTON -- American University head men's basketball coach Jeff Jones has announced the addition of Robert Burke as an assistant coach for the Eagles. Burke brings 21 years of collegiate coaching experience to American. Most recently he served as an assistant coach at Georgetown University. Burke has been part of the building process at five NCAA Division I institutions and has helped teams to postseason play in ten of the last eleven years, including an appearance in the 2007 NCAA Final Four. 

Before going to Georgetown, Burke spent four seasons at Princeton. During that time, the Tigers captured two outright Ivy League titles and tied for a third. While at Georgetown and Princeton, Burke's main responsibilities were recruiting and game preparation. Throughout his career, he has coached 39 all-conference student-athletes. 

Burke's first coaching experience was as an assistant at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, where he served from 1988 through 1994. During that time, he recruited many of the school's most accomplished players, including five of the top 25 all-time leading scorers in program history and the former career assists leader. 

He spent the next three years on the West Coast at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, before returning east as an assistant at Siena College. In each of his three seasons at Siena, the Saints were among the top five nationally in scoring, averaging at least 86.0 points per game. In addition, Siena played in three consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship games, won two MAAC titles, compiled a 66-27 record, and received two invitations to postseason play. 

A Silver Spring, Md., native, Burke played basketball for coach Dick Myers at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. After high school, he was an MVP and team captain at Haverford College until he was sidelined by a torn ACL during his senior season. 

"Robert is an accomplished coach with tremendous experience and a great understanding of the game," commented Jones. "Since we will have such a young team next year, Robert's ability to teach the game makes him an ideal fit. We are excited to have Robert join our coaching staff."