Charlotte high school basketball standout talks about GMA intern experience

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE — Cierra Burdick was a standout basketball player in the Charlotte area.

She played her freshman year at South Mecklenburg High School before transferring to Butler. While a Bulldog, Burdick helped the team reach an 86-7 record over three years.

She graduated in 2011 and headed to the University of Tennessee. Burdick said the biggest transition a player can make in sports is the one from high school to college.

“The level of play is just on another level. Everything is just so much more competitive. You’re not only playing against the best of the best but you’re practicing against the best of the best,” Burdick said.

Burdick’s career at Tennessee began under all-time great coach Pat Summitt. She holds the most all-time wins for a coach in NCAA basketball history of either a men's or women's team in any division. Summitt’s final season was Burdick’s freshman year. She and two other teammates were chosen to do an interview with “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts about their coach.

Although Summitt is no longer the head coach, Burdick says she is still an integral part of Tennessee basketball.

“We try to honor her every time we step on the court. She would give up all eight championships to be able to coach again. Speaks of how she loves her players and loves this program,” Burdick said.

During the interview, Burdick made jokes with Roberts about taking her job. Afterward, Roberts offered Burdick an internship at the ABC morning show.

“She’s incredibly humble, and encouraging and positive. She’s a breath of fresh air,” Burdick said about Roberts.

Although she wasn’t old enough to intern yet at GMA, Burdick kept in contact with Roberts. She spent last summer as a member of Team Robin.

“Robin is so loyal to all her supporters and loves interacting with them,” Burdick said. She recalled the fan mail Roberts received and how she loved responding to each piece.

As a member of Team Robin, Burdick helped with the mail and prepped Roberts for upcoming interviews. She also cut old ESPN clips and logged the Oprah Classic.

Burdick also played USA Basketball last summer and was a member of the 3-on-3 World Championship team. The day after her GMA orientation, Burdick flew to Colorado for USA Basketball training before flying to Moscow, Russia, to compete. The team brought home the gold.

Burdick said she learned a lot from Roberts about sports journalism and journalism in general. Roberts was a standout basketball player at Southeastern Louisiana University before graduating and beginning her broadcast career.

"Anytime I got to go out to eat or have breakfast with Robin, those were the special moments the internship were about," Burdick said. "We talked about ball here and there, GMA here and there."

She still stays in touch with Roberts. When Tennessee played at Rutgers in December, Roberts and 11 of her GMA co-workers came to watch Burdick play.

Tennessee's basketball team is presently ranked sixth in the country. Burdick is graduating in May 2015 and plans to enter the WNBA Draft. She would like to play in the states and professionally overseas -- the seasons offset.

After her basketball career, Burdick would like to be in sports broadcasting. Roberts' assistant took Burdick to tour ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, over the summer. She was impressed by the technology on campus.

Burdick said of Roberts, "She's good people."

WSOC