DJ Burns, NC State men’s basketball still have questions to be answered at Final Four
N.C. State’s D.J. Burns has been surrounded by so many media members the past few weeks that a newbie breaking into the crowd didn’t surprise him Sunday.
And, as is his nature, the big man played along.
It was well after the Wolfpack had celebrated its 76-64 win over Duke in the NCAA South Regional Final on the court at American Airlines Center. Burns, after scoring 29 points, after being named the most outstanding player in the regional, had done one major interview session, then paraded to another and finally was in a hallway outside the Pack’s locker room.
“D.J., how do you feel about your coach throwing the ball to you 19 times in 28 minutes,” the media interloper, Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts, posed after moving into the scrum.
“Um, I hope we carry that mentality into next week,” Burns said, smiling.
“Are you a little surprised that Michael O’Connell was our leading rebounder?” Keatts said.
That stumped Burns, who assumed Mo Diarra or Ben Middlebrooks would be the leader.
“He had more than Mo?” Burns said.
Told O’Connell had 11 rebounds, Burns could only smile again.
“I think Mike is our toughest guy,” he said. “It’s that simple. He’s our toughest guy.”
So it went in the aftermath of the Wolfpack’s biggest NCAA victory since 1983, when another glib N.C. State coach, never at a loss for words or humor, took his team to the Final Four in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Keatts elbowing his way into Burns’ media group was exactly what the late Jim Valvano would have done, given the chance to be a part of the party. Coach V rarely missed one in ‘83.
Not all questions to Burns were frivolous, of course. The Wolfpack, once in Arizona, will face Purdue in the semifinals Saturday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. That will put Burns on the court with Zach Edey, the Boilermakers’ 7-foot-4, 300-pound senior, whose 40 points and 16 rebounds Sunday paced Purdue past Tennessee to advance to the Final Four.
Burns was asked what he had planned for Edey, the consensus pick last season as national player of the year and a likely repeat winner this year.
Another smile.
“A good game,” Burns replied. “I won’t speak on that too much.”
There’s enough time to worry about that, to get a game plan in place. Odds are, the Pack will initially match up Diarra, who at 6-10 has a 7-foot-6 wingspan, against Edey defensively. Then Middlebrooks. And Burns.
Edey and Burns do share one thing in common: both were left badly disappointed and dejected after the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
The Pack lost its NCAA opener to Creighton in Denver in a game that had Burns overmatched by 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner, who scored 31 points. Burns had little to say after that one.
It was worse for Purdue and Edey. The Boilermakers became just the second No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history to be ousted by a No. 16 seed as Fairleigh Dickinson bounced them out in the opener.
Edey had 21 points and 15 rebounds but it was not enough to prevent a 63-58 loss and a basketball comeuppance for the Big Ten school.
Purdue, again a No. 1 seed this year, has reached the Final Four only to be facing a Wolfpack team that’s a No. 11 seed and has 14 losses and seemingly been adopted by America’s sporting public and anyone who craves a good underdog story.
The Pack won the ACC Tournament championship with five wins in five days. It beat Texas Tech, Oakland, Marquette and Duke in the NCAA’s, winning the South Regional, beating the odds game after game.
Middlebrooks called the run “magical” Sunday and wasn’t the only one to use that word. Others would agree.
Some of the Vegas oddsmakers are making Purdue a 9.5-point pick over the Pack. But what else is new?
“Itʼs been a crazy season,” Wolfpack guard Casey Morsell said Sunday. “Itʼs been a roller coaster, been a lot of ups and downs, and man... we got it going at the right time, we stayed connected through the good and the bad.
“It has been a display of hard work, a display of beating the odds.”
