East Moline native Kannon Burrage returned to the Quad Cities in May 2021 to lead the Black Hawk College men’s basketball team.
Burrage spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC), a school where he played from 2009-11. He has been known for his strong recruiting and player development.
During his three years coaching at DMACC, he helped lead the Bears to 72-19 record, a 37-12 record in conference play, two conference championship, two Region XI Championships and in April 2021, an NJCAA Division II National Championship, the first championship in school history. He also coached two All-Americans and 13 All-Region players.
As a DMACC player, Burrage helped lead the Bears to a 45-15 record. He was a two-time Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) all-conference player, being named to the first team in his sophomore season after leading the league in scoring with a 20.7 average.
Burrage transferred to the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) following his DMACC career. He averaged 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists a game during his two-year stint at UTSA, earning two all-conference selections.
After graduating from UTSA, Burrage played professionally in Slovenia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Singapore Basketball League in 2015.
Burrage continued to be active in his hometown after finishing college. In 2015, he started United We Ball, an organization designed to build stronger relationships between local law enforcement and the communities they serve through sports. One of the events is called Hoops for Hope, which features local law enforcement and community members playing an outdoor basketball game to help build stronger relationships within the community. The game draws large crowds and has been featured on local and national news networks.