On June 21, Donna Burgess awoke to a text message from her daughter, Celeste.

“We’re on our way,” read the message, sent about 7:30 a.m. Central time.

 

Celeste Burgess had flown to Alabama to visit her brother Marcus Peoples for a few days, and Peoples and his then wife, Leslie, were then taking her to an elite-level basketball camp at Auburn.

 

At 9:54 a.m., Donna Burgess wrote back, telling Celeste to let her know when they arrived.

 

When there was no reply after a few minutes, Donna said she sensed something was wrong, because if Celeste, 14, didn’t have a basketball in her hands, she had her phone — texting with friends or using Twitter — and she always replied, usually instantly.

 

Donna recalled telling her son, Caleb, 13, that she thought Celeste had been in an accident. “I don’t know why I said that,” she said last week.

 

Phenomenal Talent

 

The trip to Auburn was the first big event of the summer for Celeste, who had planned to spend much of it away from home, at AAU tournaments and basketball camps.

 

Coach Rick Anderson of Mount Tabor, where Celeste started her high-school career, said he knew the first time he saw her play that she was special.

 

“She was just a phenomenal talent,” he said. “It was a no-doubter — she had Division I written on her.

 

“I would have been shocked if this kid had not made it to the WNBA, because that was what one of her goals was. She had the skills, but she had the drive. That was kind of the deal, she was headed to the WNBA. That’s what she wanted to do; she had a big career ahead of her.”

 

Celeste averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds as a freshman at Mount Tabor and, at 6 feet tall, had the skills to play every position. Recruiting interest came from across the nation, with programs such as Stanford and North Carolina in the mix.

 

Celeste, seeking tougher competition, transferred to New Hope Christian School in Thomasville in December 2012 to play for her AAU coach, Delaney Rudd.

 

“She played with a lot of heart and passion for the game, and you could just tell it was a kid that had the ambition to try to make basketball her future,” said Rudd, a former Wake Forest and NBA guard. “Every time you saw her play, you never had to worry about her giving the maximum effort.”

 

100 Percent Effort

 

Celeste Burgess did everything with maximum effort.

 

She was a member of the National Honor Society and had hopes of a career in family law after she finished playing pro basketball. At St. Peter's Church and World Outreach Center, she was recognized as a leader among its youth and was a mentor to younger children.

 

Known as “The Reverend” to teammates for her strong faith and spotless reputation, Celeste always greeted friends with a big hug.

 

Allen Burgess said that his daughter went out of her way to do the little things to make people feel special. She made it a point to let people know they were appreciated or to crack a joke if someone was feeling down.

 

“If she saw you standing to the side, and nobody was talking to you, she’d make it her business to go over to introduce herself to you and bring you over to meet other people,” he said.

 

Despite joining the New Hope team with the season already under way, Celeste quickly became one of the most well-liked players on the team, Rudd said. She was especially close with Aryn Tarver and Kristina King, but Rudd was said that Celeste never jumped into one clique.

 

“Being honest, that might have been on Tuesday,” he said. “On Wednesday, there might have been another group she was friends with. It was hard to say who she was best friends with.”

 

Tarver, a senior, knew Burgess through AAU basketball and was excited to take her under wing. The two became roommates at New Hope. “It was like sisterhood,” Tarver said. “Blood couldn’t have made us closer.”

 

Lasting Impact

 

Celeste Burgess has not stopped inspiring teammates, friends and even strangers.

 

On the day of her funeral, the line went out the door of the sanctuary at St. Peter’s, which holds 2,700 people. Nearly every college coach who recruited her was there, her parents said. They also said that 60 people came forward at the altar call to make spiritual commitments to Jesus Christ.

 

Through the Celeste Burgess O.N.E. Foundation, established by her parents, six needy families received Thanksgiving dinners last month. There also will be a Christmas toy drive, and in the future, Donna plans to establish scholarships for local students.

 

 

“The age; too soon,” he said. “That’s the sadness, and I still, about, almost every day can tear up about that. The kind of child she was. That’s most of what I think about, what hit me the hardest and the worst thing ever, because of the kind of person she was. The loving kind of person that this world needed, this world had, and this world needs more of — the loving kind.

 

“It’s a loss to the world, you know. It’s a loss to the neighborhood, a loss to the schools, a loss to the churches, everything that she brought to the table….” - article written by Brant Wilkerson - New/Winston-Salem Journal

 

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