On Hold : Choice Between Baseball or Basketball Proving to Be Frustrating Waiting Game for Burbank

Pardon Dennis Burbank, a Valencia High School baseball and basketball star, if he seems a bit confused during the final days of his senior year.

It’s just that he’s not quite sure if he should sign a major league baseball contract or wait to see if he can get a college scholarship offer for baseball or basketball. Burbank, an imposing figure on the mound who stands 6-feet 5-inches and weighs 220 pounds, was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 23rd round but was not much impressed with their offer of $30,000. The deal includes a $10,000 signing bonus and $12,000 for college tuition after his first season of minor league play.

Burbank, who will graduate Thursday with a 3.4 grade-point average, said the offer wasn’t attractive enough for him not to consider college as an alternative.

Major college baseball programs such as UCLA, Arizona State and Loyola-Marymount have been talking to Burbank all season, but no offers have come from the three.

So far, Burbank’s only college scholarship offer was for basketball at Cal Poly Pomona, a Division II program. He turned down the Broncos, figuring he could compete on a higher level if he chose to play baseball.

“I’d really like to get more money and sign, but I realize that a 23rd-round selection is limited in how much he can ask for,” Burbank said. “If I go to college, I’d like to play both sports. If I had to choose, it would be baseball.”

In the past two weeks, Burbank has juggled final exams with practice sessions for the Orange County All-Star baseball and basketball games.

On Tuesday, he played in a 40-minute basketball scrimmage against host Fullerton College. Then he drove to his home in Placentia for dinner and a change of uniforms and pitched in the 20th Orange County all-star baseball game at Anaheim.

Burbank pitched one hitless inning for the North team, which routed the South, 11-0, but he was disappointed he didn’t play more.

“I had fun, but it wasn’t my idea of a game,” he said. “There are so many good players, and they all want to play and show what they can do. Nine innings isn’t enough. I’d like to see a two-out-of-three series.”

A night earlier, Burbank was honored as the North basketball team’s top scholar-athlete, an award he said had special significance for his family.

“I live with my grandparents, and they’re sticklers for academics,” said Burbank, whose parents are separated. “I think that award meant more to them than anything else I’ve accomplished.”

Burbank was the Orange League’s most valuable player in basketball and baseball. On the mound, he was 11-2 with 109 strikeouts and a 1.90 earned-run average. On the court, he averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Steve Brooks, the North basketball coach from Los Alamitos, is counting on Burbank for inside defense and rebounding against the South team, which is taller and stronger, in the 22nd all-star basketball game at 7:30 Saturday night in UC Irvine’s Bren Center.

With 6-foot 11-inch LeRon Ellis of Mater Dei sitting out the game, Burbank and Richard Lucas, a center from Katella, will be the most physical players that the North can put inside. Ellis is missing the game because he failed to attend enough practices as a result of participating in freshman orientation at the University of Kentucky.

With rules requiring man-to-man defense, Burbank will guard highly regarded Ricky Butler of Ocean View. Butler, a 6-6, 230-pound power forward, will be attending the University of Kansas.

“We’re both about the same size,” Burbank said. “I’ve been looking forward to playing against Ricky since we both played in a summer tournament in Las Vegas as sophomores.

“He’s gotten a lot of publicity . . . I haven’t. He’s going to a big-time program at Kansas. I don’t have a scholarship offer. I’ll admit I’m a little jealous.

“I’m going to give that extra effort and show I can play with a big-time player. That’s the attitude of our whole team. It seems like players from the South always get more recognition . . . always get more credit than we do. We’re just going to have to work harder.”

Burbank’s immediate plans after Saturday’s game include pitching this summer for his American Legion team, the Fullerton Angels, and probably for a local community college team in the Metro League.

When he isn’t pitching, he’ll be playing in pickup basketball games in Newport Beach.

And next season?

A baseball scholarship would be preferable, but . . .

“At this point, if I played well on Saturday night and somebody offered me a basketball scholarship, I’d take it,” he said.

And life isn’t getting any less confusing for Dennis Burbank.