waynealumni.org

I was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Connor Burns. I probably only spoke with him once, when he helped me load a riding lawn mower on to my trailer at Home Depot in Penfield a few years ago. I knew of him through the Wayne Basketball program in the early 00's. We mostly made small talk about what he was doing since high school, but he seemed like a fine young man.

I had observed him play basketball for a few years, as I was maintaining a website for the Wayne teams, and my son was playing a year behind Connor's class, so I saw most all of their games from 8th grade on. You probably can learn a lot about someones character by watching how they play and compete in sports. Connor was a small guy in a big guys sport, but he wasn't afraid to challenge anyone. He was a hard nosed scrappy player, who played defense as hard as he did offense. He was an excellent point guard, and but if for a severely broken ankle after his freshman season might have had even more success on the court. Even as a senior, he would be literally limping towards the end of the game. I knew little about his injury, but there was no question it had a long lasting effect on what he could do on the court, but he didn't seem to let it deter him.

But he always gave 100 percent, there was no question. He played with a lot of heart.

And my heart goes out to his family and friends.