Dr. James (Jim) F. Burson is a sought-after basketball coaching consultant and motivational speaker. He is known as a “coach’s coach” (Sports Illustrated) for his lifetime commitment to improving the quality of the game at all levels and his passion for working with coaches to help them become the best they can be.
Jim’s second book, The Daily Nugget: Motivations for Basketball Coaches and Everyone Who Loves the Game, was published in April 2015 and launched at the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) annual convention held during the 2015 Final Four tournament. His first book, the best-selling The Golden Whistle ~ Going Beyond: The Journey to Coaching Success, was published exactly one year earlier at the same event.
Jim is a consultant for Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball and was strategic marketing consultant for 94Fifty (Infomotion Sports) during its startup years. He created and led the Nike Coaches Learning Academy, an annual invitation-only workshop for Nike’s elite youth coaches.
Past president and life member of the NABC, “Guardians of the Game,” Burson is a member of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame, where he is also on the board of directors, the strategic planning committee and co-chairs the annual induction ceremony.
Sports Illustrated featured Jim in a famous article about the complex Princeton Offense, crediting him with “cracking the code” of the offense and dubbing him “the Connector” and “the Disseminator” for his role in sharing its secrets with coaches around the country.
An all-time top ten Division III coach, chaired DIII basketball for the NCAA for many years, was part of the selection process for the Gold Medal Olympic team that included Michael Jordan (’84), and was named All-Time Assistant Coach for the USA Olympic Sports Festival.
Jim had a distinguished 42-year career at Muskingum University as head coach of the men’s basketball team and as professor of physical and health education. He served twice as chair of his department while serving simultaneously as athletic director, and founded the school’s athletic hall of fame. He received the university’s distinguished alumni and distinguished faculty awards.
During his tenure he founded one of the earliest youth basketball camps, which ran for 40 years, and also led coaches’ camps.
Jim graduated from Muskingum and earned his PhD and master’s degrees from The Ohio State University.
