The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1493632
MARCH/APRIL 2023 ■ 23 BY MATT CARTER hether DJ Burns Jr. is starting or com- ing off the bench, NC State basket- ball fans are keenly aware of when and where the fifth-year senior post player is on the floor. Burns has turned into a fan favorite the likes of which has not been seen in years, perhaps decades, around Raleigh. He has even unintentionally established trends. During a blowout home win over Duke in early January, Burns was scratched in the eye. As a result, he dealt with some sensitivity to light. In their next game, at Virginia Tech, Burns and the Pack were in a celebra- tory mood after earning a valuable Quad 1 road triumph. A member of the NC State basket- ball communications team shot a video of the players celebrating. At one point, the camera focused in on Burns, who had his arms crossed, bobbing his head while wearing a pair of shades. The sunglasses were actually to help him deal with the locker room lights, but they have now become part of Burns' im- age. When NC State hosted Miami a week later, the first 500 students at the game received similar shades as a promotion. Children are now waiting after games, some of them wearing their own sun- glasses, for a chance to meet Burns. The big man obliges, even engaging in his now trademark little dance with the young fans. Burns has done his part to increase the crowds at PNC Arena that have come to embrace him. He asked fans to "remind Granny to tell her friends at the bingo hall that the Pack play tomorrow" prior to the Florida State contest Feb. 1. Before Notre Dame's visit, he tweeted to the NC State fanbase to "tell your kids' fa- vorite teacher that the Pack play tonight at PNC while you wait in the carpool line." And before the Miami game that fea- tured a promotion in his honor, Burns asked Pack nation to "invite your dog- sitter and her boyfriend" among others for the contest. By the second time Burns touches the ball, the dog-sitting couple, the bingo hall friends and the popular teachers are join- ing thousands of others in chanting "DJ Burns." "He's been great. What a great person- ality this kid is," NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts noted. A Difference Maker On The Court Burns, listed on the official NC State roster at 6-9, 275 pounds, understands why he has quickly become popular. "It started with people not expect- ing me to be able to play at the level we try to play at because I have a little more weight than the average guy that plays basketball," he said in an interview with Jeff Gravley of GoPack.com. "They automatically assume that I would be terrible at basketball. I think once they realize that this guy can play a little bit, they're like, 'Yeah, we like him.'" Burns knows what most people think when they first see him: He's going to be a slow-footed, defensive liability who won't have the stamina to last long on the court. Yet through the Wolfpack's first 18 ACC games, he was averaging 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 57.4 percent from the field. "Burns is a heck of a player," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "I've seen a lot of big guys like him. He reminds me a lot of [former Michigan State and NBA star] Zach Randolph, only he's even bigger." Wake Forest fans chanted "Whopper" at Burns, a reference to Burger King's signature menu offering. By the end of the Deacons' home loss to the Wolfpack, Burns had 31 points and 9 rebounds and made 14 of 26 shots from the field. W " I felt like this was a place where not only could I help the team, but the team could help me as well. " Burns