Every time graduate forward DJ Burns touched the ball in the second half against Texas Tech, a crowd directly behind NC State’s bench erupted into cheers in anticipation of a patented Burns post-up. It wasn’t just Wolfpack fans cheering on Burns — it was fans from every school in attendance.
The fun-loving big man has gone from a local star to a national sensation during March, and he’s loved every second of it.
“I think it’s awesome,” Burns said. “It’s a great feeling when people are behind you. But you try not to get too high or too low. I think it’s awesome, but that’s not what makes us win. So I want to still stay focused, even though I do enjoy it a lot.”
That’s what makes Burns such a likable character, especially in March — he’s always smiling, and while he’s getting a lot of the attention, he’s not letting it affect his game. If the big man gets doubled, he always makes the right pass, and if his game is off, like it was in the first half against the Red Raiders, he’s the biggest cheerleader for his teammates.
Junior forward Ben Middlebrooks played the best game of his life with a career-high 21 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as Burns’ backup. Instead of hanging his head that it wasn’t him putting on a show in Pittsburgh, he was jumping up and down on the sideline after every Middlebrooks bucket.
While the 6-foot-9 forward is soaking in the spotlight, he’s also making sure he puts the team first so his and the rest of the Wolfpack’s story continues deep into March.
“It’s an awesome feeling, whether they’re cheering or not, my mindset is going to be to find a good shot and get my teammates involved in a way that can win games,” Burns said. “It’s nice to know they trust in me and believe in everything we’re trying to do here.”
Although Burns was watching Middlebrooks dominate in the first half, he got in on the action himself in the final 20 minutes with 10 of his 16 points to put Texas Tech away. Whenever NC State needs to put its opponent into the dirt, the coaching staff looks to Burns to dig the grave.
“I consider him a closer for us,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “We put him in the game, and he closes the game. And it’s so tough because every coach that we play against, he’s gotta make a major decision: Are you going to trap him, or are you going to let him play one-on-one? And we’ve seen it in different ways. And tonight they let him play one-on-one, and he kind of started off slow but got going at the end.”
Even though Keatts is supposed to stay serious on the sideline, he can’t help but crack a smile when he sees Burns backing down a smaller opponent with the crowd directly behind him cheering on the “smooth operator.”
“I mean, he’s just fun,” Keatts said. “He scores and he’s beat up all the time. And he’s almost gotta play through contact. But it is so fun to watch him. He was a local star for a whole year, and now everybody in the national media is starting to understand that.”
There’s not much coaching that goes into telling your biggest guy to dominate in the paint, but Burns still gives credit to everybody but himself for the success that he’s had the past few weeks.
“To be honest, our coaches gave us all we needed,” Burns said. “They gave us all the tools. The way they handled the scout they did really well, and we did a great job of being able to execute the things that set up for us.”
Burns embodies the personality and play style that fans across the country adore in March. However, he will have to share the spotlight Saturday night when NC State faces off against Oakland, which has a March Madness star of its own.
Oakland guard Jack Gohlke got the attention of the college basketball world when he led the No. 14 seed Golden Grizzlies to a stunning upset over No. 3 seed Kentucky. He torched the Wildcats with 32 points and 10 3-pointers to set up the most unlikely matchup in the second round.
Saturday won’t just be the battle of two cinderellas, but it will also be to see who’s the real darling of March Madness.
