BRADENTON, Fla. — Bill Laimbeer and Cierra Burdick had crossed paths twice before. Despite the WNBA head coach and former NBA “Bad Boy” cutting the Lady Vol product from the New York Liberty during the 2017 season and again in 2018 from the Las Vegas Aces, he saw plenty in the savvy 6-foot-2 forward that made him want to bring her back to his 2020 edition of the Aces mid-season on July 31.

For Burdick, whose presence on the Aces’ 2018 preseason roster was her last participation in the league, the obviously-welcomed call came totally out of left field.

“I was definitely surprised to get the call,” Burdick said. “I was actually on my way to the airport and was supposed to fly out to Minneapolis two hours later when my agent gave me the call and told me that Vegas wanted me to fly out that night. I had a lot of mixed emotions.

“Obviously, I have my history with Bill, so I was like ‘I can’t get rid of this guy’ on one hand (she said while chuckling). On the other, I was just super thankful and grateful that he would call me and want me to come be part of his team. For me to have the chance to play in the ‘W’ again is a blessing. You’re playing against the best in the world, night-in and night-out. I’m learning from the best coaches in the world. I’m super grateful for this opportunity. This is why I train every single day, no matter whether I have a contract or not, so if I do have the opportunity I’m prepared for it.”

Burdick, who played at Tennessee from 2011-15, was an All-SEC First Team and an AP All-America honorable mention choice as a senior. Additionally, she was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member, a 2015 second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American and a 2015 recipient of UT’s Torchbearer Award, the highest honor bestowed on a student at the university. After averaging 11.0 points and 7.6 rebounds in her final season on Rocky Top, the Charlotte, N.C., native was taken by Atlanta in the second round with the 14th overall pick of the 2015 WNBA Draft.

In her second season with the Dream, Burdick was waived on June 28, 2016.  She was signed by New York and Laimbeer in 2017 and played six games with the Liberty before being released. San Antonio signed her to pair of seven-day contracts later that season. That ended up being her last appearance on a regular season roster, until now. While playing overseas and continuing to work with an eye toward another shot, Burdick never gave up hope on a return to the league.

“I always have faith in a greater plan than my own,” Burdick said. “I train the way I train, because I never know if there’s going to be a call-up. I haven’t played (in the league) the last two summers, but last summer I did play three on three with a team that was an extension of the Seattle Storm, so I haven’t been around, but at the same time I kind of have. I also have really good friends in the ‘W,’ that I keep in contact with.

“There are some nerves being here; I’m not going to lie to you guys. I think if I just continue to get reps in and continue to get confident and comfortable, I feel like I can make a positive impact on this team.”

Based on his previous experience coaching Burdick, Laimbeer believes she can do just that.

“I told her when she got here that I wanted her energy,” Laimbeer shared. “I know she’s a smart basketball player, because we’ve crossed paths before, so I knew what I was getting. I need energy. I need a position player with what she can bring at her size as a swing player between the 3 and the 4, to run the floor, make some shots, play defense.

“This is a good opportunity for her. It’s a quality team, and everybody’s in it for each other. I think she can thrive in this environment if she gets the opportunity to get out there and get some playing time.”

Burdick believes previous stints under Laimbeer’s leadership have been helpful in providing an understanding of how she can best respond to his style of coaching and meet his expectations on the floor.

“It definitely helps,” Burdick said. “I think a lot of coaches want players who have been in their camps before and they are familiar with. They know their sets and their schemes. I think that is one of the reasons I got the call-up from Bill, because he knows what he’s going to get out of me, and I know what to expect from him.

“He demands excellence. He’s a defensive rebounding guy. He wants to pound the ball in the paint. I come from a university where we played inside-out. That’s no difference for me in terms of basketball schemes. I think it definitely helps that I know what he’s expecting and I know what to expect from him as a person. He’s not one of these coaches who’s going to be like ‘great job, Cierra,” and like smack you on the back. No, it’s not that at all. It’s going to be like ‘what the hell was that, Burdick?’ You’ve just got to take it for what it is, and you know that at least he’s talking to you and brought you on the team for a reason.”

Laimbeer values Burdick’s background at an internationally-respected program like Tennessee and appreciates both her basketball IQ and the unselfish nature of her game. Those attributes have fostered his respect and trust in her.

“She came from a quality basketball organization in college, so you know she can play basketball,” Laimbeer said. “You know she can play team basketball, and that’s what we’re looking for. We have some stars, obviously, on this basketball team, but we play good, solid team basketball on both sides of the ball, especially defensive-wise. We help each other out there, and I think she fits right into that kind of mold of a player.

“Her individual skills we’re going to have to get out of her to compliment what we have. We want smart basketball players. It drives me nuts when players don’t know what their assignments are. I have no problem putting her out there on the basketball court.”

With Laimbeer and Burdick having two previous go-rounds with the coach-player dynamic, both parties alluded to having a love-hate relationship that time has turned into admiration.

“Every player thinks they are better than they are,” Laimbeer said while laughing heartily. “She’s no exception. Every player thinks that. When you don’t make the team or get waived for whatever reason, whether it’s the wrong fit, or you didn’t get an opportunity to play as many minutes as you thought you should have played. It’s real life. People get cut all of the time, and she’s no exception.

“She’s a bubble player. I told her way back when that she is right on that edge, so she has to work extra hard, keep herself in shape and improve her game. Even though she may not be in the league, another opportunity may come around, and so this is her opportunity coming around. I didn’t keep her (before). It happens that way, but that’s real life. You get over it and try to make sure you’re ready for the next time.”

Burdick enters this new opportunity knowing what her role is and with an experience of seeing a different side of her coach than she had seen before.

“The first conversion I had with him, we just sat down and he explained to me what my role was,” Burdick said. “I kind of knew what it was going in – just to bring energy, to continue to work hard and just be that energizer bunny for the team. I think the personality of the team is very low key and kind of calm, and there’s a lot of introverted people, so you kind of need that energetic force. D-Rob (Danielle Robinson) is that, so I just have D-Rob’s back in bringing the energy on the sidelines and on the court.

“Bill talks ‘sugar, honey, ice, tea,’ and I just know that’s what it is with him, so I’m not going to tell you the exact conversations that we may have had. I will say that my first individual workout with Coach VJ (assistant Vickie Johnson), Bill came in and sat in on the workout. He was super helpful, and he probably talked to me that one day more than I have actually talked to him the entire three years that I’ve known him. That was a change-up. I actually saw a nice side of Bill. The other two occasions were typical Bill (you know…a-hole), but there’s a mutual respect there.”

In reaching out to Burdick for this roster move, Laimbeer was hoping he’d find that she had kept herself ready. He believes she has put in the work and has the necessary skills if she can translate them to the court.

“She got here, and she was correct (in assuring him that she had been staying in shape and working on her game) and certainly in decent shape,” Laimbeer said. “(You are) Never in game shape, because you’re not playing games, but she is in good shape. She’s worked on her game. Her shot is a quality shot. I want to see her on the floor on defense, but we don’t have any practices because there is no time to practice (due to the frequency of games). When she has to go into the fire of the game, hopefully she’s able to perform.

“She’s long, with long arms and big hands. She can handle the ball, and she can post up if necessary. She has all the tools. It’s a matter of whether can she implement them in a game, given the opportunity.”

Burdick said her experiences being in and out of the league and playing abroad have taught her much about being focused, resilient and always prepared.

“I always think of things as a win-win situation for me,” Burdick explained. “You kind of need to have that mindset when you are an underdog like I am, being in and out of the league. I’ve had situations where I was in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio, and I did training camp with Vegas in 2018, so I think in those training camp experiences and even when I made the roster, I proved to myself that I can play in this league and that I can compete at the highest level with these women.

“A lot of WNBA players will tell you it’s just about being in the right spot, at the right moment, with the right opportunity and the right system, because there are so many talented players. There are a lot of them, and I think this season has shown that a lot of them can play in this league, but because there are only 144 spots, there just isn’t a lot of opportunity. Not to say that these girls aren’t as good as these players that have jobs summer-in and summer-out, but it is about GMs and coaches who have the responsibility to get the best players for their systems. If you don’t fit that system, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t as good as the next person up, it just means you weren’t right for that opportunity.

“I think one thing I learned is to continue to work hard, to continue to grind, to trust the process and to know that God’s plan is greater than my own.  He’s got ‘unscheduleable’ blessings. That’s not a real word, but my pastor talks about that – ‘unscheduleable’ blessings – and I feel like that is what this is. I had no idea it was coming, but I am just thankful for it. You just stay patient and keep grinding and stay positive. I think that is what I have learned as a player and a person.”

-UT Athletics