Aberdeen Central product Paiton Burckhard thriving in Brookings

The game picked up the pace — as it always does in that gap between high school and college — but Paiton Burckhard had to learn to do the opposite. Slow down.

Burckhard, the former Aberdeen Central standout, is now a freshman on the South Dakota State University women’s basketball team, and the transition, though not overly difficult — buckets are still two points apiece, free throws a point, the basket is still 10 feet tall, and the court is 94 feet long — has made its demands.

And Burckhard has kept pace, by slowing down.

At 6-foot-1 with speed, agility and touch around the rim, Burckhard was used to being able to do whatever she darn well wanted on the court in high school. It was not an unheard of thing for her to grab the rebound defensively and cash in on the layup on the other end of the court.

“Now, you have to go slow to be faster than everyone,” Burckhard said. “You’re not the best kid on the court every day. That’s been an adjustment, but it’s been a good one.”

It’s not that Burckhard has lost a step on the court. Far from it, actually. Burckhard was in the starting lineup for the Jackrabbits’ final exhibition game against U-Mary and the team’s season-opener against Marquette.

It’s more about control, making the reads and playing the part.

And Burckhard is enjoying every minute of it, despite the demands of the Division I level.

“I think everything at Aberdeen Central prepared me for what I’m doing now,” Burckhard said. “I grew up being pushed every day in practice.”

Burckhard is one of six players from South Dakota on the Jackrabbits roster, a list that includes former Eastern South Dakota Conference players Macy Miller of Mitchell, Sydney Palmer of Pierre and former Sioux Falls Roosevelt star Tagyn Larson.

That familiarity has lent itself to some reminiscing in the locker room, old foes turned new teammates telling stories of what used to be.

“I think it’s really cool when you have South Dakota players coming into a great program,” Burckhard said. “We all mesh really well, and we mesh really well with the Nebraska girls and with the Minnesota girls.”

South Dakota State is 1-1 overall with a loss to a top-20 program in Marquette on the road and a home win over Florida Gulf Coast.

“We have some great potential,” Burckhard said of her team’s outlook. “We just need to click a bit more.”