Burrow: 'Thought I was gonna be a basketball guy' growing up

Joe Burrow was a star quarterback in high school, but he didn't always see himself becoming a professional football player.

Appearing on "Unbuttoned with Chris Simms" recently, Burrow said he favored basketball over football growing up and named Los Angeles Lakers star and fellow Ohio native LeBron James as one of his idols.

"Thought I was gonna be a basketball guy, so obviously LeBron James, coming from Ohio," the Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller said. "Played his high school (St. Vincent-St. Mary) when I was in high school in basketball twice. ... We lost both times, but I put up some good numbers.

"I liked football. I liked college football, but I was more of a basketball guy."

Burrow was a standout point guard at Athens High School in The Plains, Ohio, earning first-team All-State honors during his senior year. He finished his high school career with 1,426 points, the second-highest total in program history.