Brandon Snell calls Carol City teammate Deandre Burnett “Uno” — and the nickname fits.

Burnett, a 6-1, 190-pound senior guard, is No. 1 in the state in scoring with a 35.9 average, he wears jersey No. 1, and he is the No. 1 target of every team the Chiefs play.

“I’ve been here 16 years and sent 78 players to colleges, and Deandre is the best I’ve had,” Carol City coach Barry Robinson said of Burnett, who ranks third in the nation in scoring, according to MaxPreps, and has six 40-plus games this season.

Wednesday night, however, Burnett was held to a season-low 23 points in a loss at Hialeah Gardens. Burnett had only five points at the half, 10 after three quarters and made just 6 of 19 shots from the field. He even struggled at the free-throw line, making 8 of 14 and missing four in a row at one point.

Gardens played a tenacious box-and-one defense on Burnett, rotating fresh defenders on him throughout the game. Burnett was hounded all over the court, and if he beat his man, there was still a four-player zone waiting for him.

“We probably will see more defenses like that,” Robinson said. “It’s my responsibility to put the team in a better situation to win games.”

The result Wednesday was vastly different from a 60-57 win over American earlier this season. In that game, Burnett’s season-high 45 points represented 75 percent of the Chiefs’ offense. Snell said the uneven scoring has not created any jealousies on the team.

“We’re happy winning games,” Snell said of the 17-4 Chiefs. “ ’Dre makes your job easier. You just get him the ball, and it’s like you’re watching a show.”

Burnett became a starter midway through his freshman season, when he averaged eight points.

Robinson noticed his potential and started asking college scouts what Burnett needed to do to improve. Burnett was told he had to get stronger, use his left hand more and learn to play point guard — and Robinson said he has done all those things.

“Earlier in the recruiting process, I kept hearing he was considered a mid-major prospect,” Robinson said. “I’m like, ‘What are you looking at?’ ”

Burnett averaged 20 points as a sophomore and 26 as a junior, when he was the only large-school underclassman on the All-Dade first team.

Last summer, he played travel ball for Team U, which was coached by Major Parker and sponsored by Heat forward Udonis Haslem — both former University of Florida standouts.

Parker put Burnett through the same conditioning program that coach Billy Donovan uses at Florida.

“If he can make it through that workout,” Parker said, “he can make it through anything.”

Burnett has an offer from La Salle University and visited the Philadelphia school in November.

“It’s too cold,” Burnett said when asked about Philadelphia.

Robinson told Burnett that if he waited for the late signing period in April, he would have more schools to choose from.

“We took a gamble not to sign early,” Robinson said. “But I knew he had the potential to put up big numbers. Maybe not as crazy as 40 a night, but …”

The gamble appears to have paid off as the University of Miami, Mississippi and Seton Hall have shown interest.

A Miami native who turns 18 on Sunday, Burnett indicated he would love to play for the Hurricanes if they make a firm offer.

Parker said Burnett needs to improve his basketball IQ in order to become a collegiate point guard. According to Parker, Burnett won’t be able to put up 25 shots a night at the next level, where he will go up against taller guards who are just as quick.

Eventually though, Parker sees Burnett becoming an elite collegiate guard, the type who gets picked in the second round of the NBA Draft.

“I could see him being the next kid to come out of Miami like a Raja Bell or Jose Juan Barea,” Parker said of the NBA guards. “Deandre is a high Division I kid. He can pressure the ball 94 feet. He moves like a safety. And, of course, he can score.”