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Pete Thamel, ESPN
GLENDALE, Ariz. — It took six years in college for NC State forward DJ Burns Jr. to become an overnight sensation.
In a three-week span that’s included a five-game ACC tournament run and four wins in the NCAA tournament, Burns’ gap-toothed smile has emerged as one of the faces of the sport.
The 6-foot-9 Burns, listed at 275 pounds, has been a bowling ball of energy, dancing along to N.C. State’s most improbable run to the Final Four. He has averaged 18.3 points per game in the NCAA tournament, including a season-high 29 in an upset of Duke in the Elite Eight.
Along the way, he’s been shouted out by Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, filmed a manscaping commercial, and his appearance at a local Applebee’s on Tuesday led to a near mile-long line of people to meet him.
“I’m going to be honest: It is really cool,” Burns said Thursday afternoon. “But that’s not why we’re here, so I’ll worry about all that when we get done. We got to get some wins first.”
Burns also has become a celebrity of sorts in NFL circles, as scouts have buzzed how he could translate to football with his light feet, strength and NFL-ready body.
He appreciates the love but shot down the idea that he’d play football, saying he has “zero” interest in switching sports.
“Everybody needs a story to keep it interesting,” Burns said. “Maybe there was too much downtime for people to think or something, but I ain’t playing no football.”
Burns played football until eighth grade. He said he stopped when Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey, now the coach at Louisville, offered him a basketball scholarship in eighth grade.
“I quit immediately,” Burns said, flashing that grin.
Burns said he played defensive end and tight end and had success.
“I scored a lot of touchdowns at tight end,” he said, “but I was just better at basketball.”
NC State coach Kevin Keatts chuckled away any football chatter.
“No way he’s going to play basketball,” Keatts said. “He’s got great touch, but he’s not that bully you guys think. … He’s a teddy bear off the court.”
After starting his career by redshirting at Tennessee in 2018-19 and then playing three seasons at Winthrop, Burns appeared to be closing a solid career over the last two years at NC State. He’s averaged double-digits every season, peaking with 15.0 ppg at Winthrop in 2021-22.
But in three star-kissed weeks, he’s gone from solid — he wasn’t one of the 23 ACC players to receive votes for the All-ACC teams — to celebrity. The postseason has afforded a showcase for his preternatural passing, feathery touch and nimble feet, all wonderfully packaged with a relentless joy. Burns had always projected as a likely European player as a pro, as there’s few players his size profile in the NBA.
Perhaps that changes.
“I think it helped a lot for sure,” Burns said of NC State’s run aiding his professional draft stock. “It got things going a little more than they were.”
There is some modest NFL interest. A move from a long basketball career to the NFL isn’t unprecedented, as Antonio Gates went from Kent State forward to an eight-time All-Pro at tight end. There’s a handful of others who went from hardwood to professional football, including but not limited to Marcus Pollard (Bradley), Mo Alie-Cox (VCU) and Rico Gathers (Baylor).
ESPN reached out to a handful of NFL scouts Thursday, and there’s a curiously about Burns, which is seemingly more interest than he has in them. One scout said he’d need to have a Pro Day, if he was indeed interested.
“He definitely has the mass and the feet,” a veteran NFL scout said. “He doesn’t look very long, and I don’t know how strong he is.”
NC State basketball strength coach Pat Murphy said Burns’ feet, hands and strength profile as NFL-caliber. He said they don’t do the NFL combine’s 225-pound bench press drill, but he ballparked that Burns would be able to do more than 20, which is a solid performance for a lineman.
“I don’t know how many boxes he wouldn’t check,” Murphy said.
For this weekend — and likely beyond — Burns will focus on being part of the big-man revival at this Final Four, instead of protecting a quarterback’s blind side. He’ll square off against Purdue‘s 7-foot-4 Zach Edey on Saturday, giving this Final Four a throwback flavor of post power in an era that’s highlighted position-less basketball. (UConn‘s 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan, a likely top NBA pick in 2024, adds to this theme.)
“Bigs aren’t really scores anymore because they’re trying to be guards,” Burns said, “and I think that we’re bringing it back.
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