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College Basketball

Friedlander: Larger-than-life NC State star DJ Burns is making the most of his Final Four moment

Brett Friedlander

By Brett Friedlander

Published:

GLENDALE, Ariz. – At 7-4, 300 pounds, Purdue’s Zach Edey is a large man.

Only one player at the Final Four, however, is larger than life.

Forget what DJ Burns has done on the basketball court for a moment, even though it’s considerable and a major reason NC State has won 9 consecutive postseason games to crash the party here in Arizona.

His already substantial physical profile, enhanced by an even more super-sized personality, has grown exponentially since the Wolfpack began this improbable run 3 weeks ago.

He’s picked up endorsement deals from Applebee’s, Raising Canes, TurboTax and Manscape, just to name a few, piqued the interest of NFL teams and has been the center of attention in the days leading up to Saturday’s national semifinal showdown against Edey and the Boilermakers.

It’s a media frenzy reminiscent of the craziness that surrounded Zion Williamson during his 1 season at Duke in 2018-19. Only because it’s been compacted into such a short period rather than extended over the course of an entire season, it still feels fresh rather than overkill.

Or maybe it’s just the constant smile on Burns’ face that makes it feel that way.

It’s a face that seems to be everywhere these days. Everywhere from his commercials, to interviews about his lucrative vending machine business and the mural of him peering over a pair of red sunglasses painted at pedestrians walking through the Free Expression Tunnel on NC State’s campus.

“He’s definitely worth the hoopla. And he’s enjoying it,” teammate Casey Morsell said Friday. “He has a fun personality. We see him running off the court, pushing guys. That’s just who he is. He’s a loving guy doing the best he can to be that energy source for us. He definitely brings the energy and that spark we need.”

It’s a spark that gets lit even before the games ever begin. He’s usually the first one out of the locker room, skipping and playing to the crowd as he makes his way onto the court.

And the crowd can’t seem to get enough of it.

During player introductions for State’s public practice session at cavernous State Farm Stadium on Friday, Burns received by far the loudest ovation from the healthy contingent of Wolfpack fans in the stands. Even some of Purdue’s fans who were there waiting for their team’s turn on the court joined in.

And Burns is eating up all the attention as if it was a double bacon cheeseburger with an extra large order of fries. 

“It’s been pretty cool just being able to have your work pay off every day,” he said. “At this rate, it’s been every day.”

Burns isn’t the only one who’s savoring a moment that for Wolfpack fans has been 41 years in the making. His teammates are soaking up the atmosphere, as well. So is coach Kevin Keatts, who showed off his new custom Adidas shoes decorated with 9 ice cream cones. One for each victory of his team’s improbable postseason run.

The danger with all that attention and the extracurricular activities that come with it is that it’s easy to lose sight of the real task at hand. As if playing on this big a stage in this big of an area against an opponent as good as Purdue isn’t enough of a distraction.

It’s the kind of situation that in most cases, would keep a coach up at night worrying about where his star player’s head might be once the game tips off.

But at least publicly, Keatts is trusting Burns to keep his mind on the task at hand.

“I think he’s handling it great,” Keatts said. “This is who he is.”

Burns is coming off an exhilarating performance in which he torched Duke’s Kyle Filipowski for 29 points in last Sunday’s South Region championship game win against the rival Blue Devils. It was the most points scored by a State player in an Elite 8 round or later, surpassing the record of 28 set by David Thompson in 1974.

In the process, he earned his 2nd Most Outstanding Player award of the postseason.

His task will be much more difficult against Edey on Saturday. State is an 8.5-point underdog, according to ESPN BET sportsbook.

The 2-time national Player of the Year is an even more dominant low post presence than even Burns. And in addition to putting up 25 points and 12 rebounds per game, he also draws an average of 9 fouls against his opponents.

“The dude is huge,” Burns said. “I kind of like that. Anybody who scores in the post like I do, you’ve got to respect it. I think it will be fun.”

You can bet that TBS will have a camera focused on the epic clash of titans at all times when Burns and Edey are on the court.

And perhaps even when they’re not. Just as ESPN did at the height of Zionmania.

Not that Burns is ready to put himself in the same category as Williamson, an equally large man who went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.

“Him getting his attention was crazy,” said Burns, who played against Zion while both were in high
school in South Carolina. “He was killing those kids every single night. When you’ve got somebody putting up 30-50 points every single night, it’s hard not to watch that.

“But for myself, it’s cool and everything. But now we’ve got to win these games and not worry about other stuff.”

Burns understands that fame is fleeting. And that his 15 minutes of fame will run out the moment his team’s amazing run of postseason success comes to an end. Unless the Wolfpack defies the odds 2 more times and wins it all.

In that case, he might very well have a statue built in his honor on NC State’s campus.

Larger than life, of course.

Brett Friedlander

Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.

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