Steve Burrows was named the University of Regina's men's basketball head coach on June 24, 2013 after a lengthy tenure as an assistant for both the men's and the women's teams.
Under Coach Burrows, the Cougars have competed in one Canada West Final Four (2022) and have advanced to the conference quarterfinals in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2022. The team has seen a great deal of regular season success in recent years, finishing sixth and fourth in the 17-team Canada West standings in 2017-18 and 2018-19, respectively, while also placing first in the East Division with a 12-4 record during the COVID-shortened 2021-22 campaign.Â
The list of individual successes for the Cougars under the guidance of Coach Burrows is headlined by Benjamin Hillis, who in 2022 became the program's first ever recipient of the Ken Shields Award which is awarded to the U SPORTS player who best exhibits outstanding achievement in basketball, academics, and community involvement. Hillis also become the U of R's first Canada West first-team all-star in the Burrows era after his sensational fifth season in 2022.
Three players have earned Canada West second-team all-star status under Coach Burrows including Jonathan Tull (2016), Greishe Clerjuste (2019), and Carter Millar (2020). His list of conference third-team all-stars includes Tull (2015), Brian Ofori (2018), and Millar (2022), while Brandon Tull (2014), Johneil Johnson (2017), and Nick Barnard (2019) have all earned Canada West All-Rookie Team honours.
Prior to being hired as head coach, Burrows had been an assistant coach with the men's team since the 1994-95 season and served double duty since the 2007-08 campaign when he also held the title as assistant coach for the women's team. Burrows helped guide the men's team to three appearances in the Canada West Final Four over a four-year span from 2003 to 2006. That time was punctuated by a historic 16-4 season in 2005-06 as the Cougars went undefeated on their home court during the conference schedule and set a program record for most wins in a single year. With the women's team, Burrows helped the program reach unprecedented heights including appearances in five CIS Championship tournaments in the six years he's been on staff.
He also served as the director of coaching development for Basketball Saskatchewan from 2010 until he was hired as the head coach of the Cougars. He has also held head coaching positions for seven provincial teams, Saskatchewan's Basketball Canada Centre for Performance, and at the high school level with Winston Knoll Collegiate.
Burrows is the 10th head coach in the history of the U of R's men's basketball program at the U SPORTS level.
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