The son of former UNLV forward Michael (Spiderman) Burns, Jason Burns had picked up recruiting momentum in a high school career that took him to California, North Carolina, and back to his home town of Las Vegas, averaging 17 points and seven rebounds as a senior at Durango HS, and joined fellow Las Vegas guard Demetrius Hunter as a freshman on the 1999-2000 Georgetown team.

Burns proved a poor fit for Craig Esherick's offense. He saw action in three early games and was not seen on the court after the first week of December, which was cited as an undisclosed injury. The University announced a transfer at the end of the spring semester, with Esherick commenting that "Jason has not decided which school he will attend next year, but we wish him all the best."

Without a Division I offer, Burns enrolled in junior college at the College of Southern Idaho. One month into the 2000-01 season, Burns was dismissed from the team by CSI coach Derek Zeck. While using the phrase "unspecified reasons", Zeck nonethless told the Twin Falls (ID) Times News that "I felt he just wasn't committed to winning as I needed him to be." Burns scored 14 points in 38 minutes of action for the Golden Eagles, which finished 29-4 overall on the season.

Burns returned to Las Vegas, where he lives today.