The RoundHouse | 10/29/2018 9:39:00 PM

Kimberly Seward grew up with the towel drill and so did her son, Jamarius Burton. Wilford Seward, her father, considered that defensive drill the building block for everything else in practice. 
 
"We never moved to anything else until we perfected it," Seward said. "He got us used to squatting and moving our feet and when we didn't do it properly, it was repetition. Over and over again."
 
That's why Burton, a freshman guard at Wichita State, is making a good impression as the regular season nears. The Shockers play their exhibition game on Tuesday against NCAA Division II Catawba (N.C.) College at Koch Arena. 
 
"He's got some toughness and nasty," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "He's got some competitive juices and fire in his belly."
 
That comes from the family. His mom played power forward at Alabama A&M. Two older sisters played college basketball. Cousin Andrus Peat is an offensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints and uncle Todd Peat played offensive line for six NFL seasons.
 
Wilford Seward, who died in 2011, coached his daughters through middle school. He used the towel drill (where an athlete holds a towel over head while sliding in a defensive stance) in every practice.
 
"His motto is 'Hard work pays off," she said. "If you score 20 points and your man that you're guarding scores 20 points, you've done absolutely nothing. I instilled the same thing in all of my children."
 
Kimberly Seward coached her son to regard defense as the top priority, just like his grandfather wanted. She said her son grabbed a basketball at six months and tried to dribble at 1. She saw basketball as his destiny with defense leading the way.
 
"She's the one who stressed it to me at an early age," Burton said. "My mom always said defense wins basketball games. That was my motto."
 
Dive on the floor. Take charges. Move your feet.
 
"I know all of those are winning plays," Burton said.
 
Coaches notice. Teammates notice. 
 
"Defense first," freshman Erik Stevenson said. "Tough."
 
Burton (6-foot-4, 208 pounds) is regarded as worker in the weight room and a budding leader. Earlier this month, fellow freshman Chance Moore described Burton demanding teammates get organized and sharpen their focus during a timed layup drill.
 
"He's a freshman, but he won't be short to tell anybody where they need to be," Moore said. "Jamarius Burton is a dog in every aspect. He plays hard at every moment."
 
Burton's reputation at other moments is much different. Teammates call him "grandpa" because of his demeanor and his devotion to routine. He listens to the Temptations and Anthony Hamilton.
 
"He has a lot of grandpa traits," Moore said. "He does older stuff, like he puts ointment on his knees to stay healthy and in shape. He'll stretch for two hours."
 
Stevenson rooms with Burton and says both of them are eager to take naps to rest and heal.
 
"He's always iced up," Stevenson said. "He doesn't move like he's 18 or 19. He moves like he's 78 or 79. On the court, he moves just fine."
 
The nickname is fitting. Wilford Seward passed on more than basketball to his grandson.
 
"(Jamarius) is not a flashy person," Kimberly Seward said. "He listens to old, old blues songs. R&B, things your grandparents would listen to. He hung around my father a lot. I think that had a lot of influence on him."
 
Burton's stretching routine stems from a knee injury suffered before his junior year at Independence High in Charlotte, N.C. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and that injury, which cost him his junior season, informs every athletic move he makes. His teammates might be able to stretch for a few minutes and bounce around the floor; he is cautious and diligent.
 
He arrives an hour or more before practice to work with trainer Todd Fagan and ride the bike to loosen up. On the court, his stretching routine might go as long as 30 minutes before a game or 15 minutes before a practice. 
 
"When I'm loose, I can perform to the best of my ability," he said. "When I stretch out really well, my body is not the issue when I go out on the court. It's all mental."
 
Like many young athletes, he did not take stretching seriously before the injury. 
 
"I feel like that might have been a real problem," he said. "I want to alleviate all doubt."
 
Marshall views Burton as a point guard and a small forward. Burton can guard all those positions. He can run a team. His shooting needs to improve for him to play more at shooting guard. As a freshman, however, he understands that his coach, his grandfather and his mother all agree that defense is critical.
 
"I like playing defense," he said. "I like stopping people. For me, it's doing whatever it takes to win."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.