The NCAA national tournament is a thing of the past and once it is over it is time to remember everything that was experienced in the current edition of the year 2024 which allowed us to live great moments in the so-called ‘March Madness’, where it is always common to see a player who is and makes a difference on and off the playing fields, and on this occasion it was his turn the turn at center from North Carolina State University, DJ Burns, who in addition to being quite charismatic, is an unusual player with a physique that is far from what is usually seen in elite athletes.
Burns weighs 130 kilos, looks slow, without an impressive physique but he was a player who, thanks to his gameskills and high level, as well as great fundamentals, managed to arouse thousands of praise, admiration and above all a lot of respect from college basketball experts, as well as important figures of the NBA, such as Nikola Jokic, another player who shines in the best basketball league in the world without being the common denominator in basketball worldwide, but a fairly efficient one.
NC State surprised this year in the NCAA
Nobody gave a single peso for North Carolina State University and much less was it thought that they would be playing in ‘March Madness’, especially when they had a fairly irregular regular season with a record of 17 wins and 14 losses, but they were still able to win the ACC conference championship, one of the biggest college basketball in the United States.
The so-called ‘Wolfpacks’ lined up rivals of the size and level like Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia and North Carolina to be able to register their name in the Final Four; In 5 games Burns left averages of 15.2 points, 63% from the field, 4 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
Burns played his sixth year in NCAA college basketball, his second from NC State, previously defending the colors of Tennessee and Winthrop. In May 2022, already being an important player in college basketball, He made the decision to change scene and head to NC State, where he continued his rise until he shined in this March Madness, where he earned the honor of being named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament of his conference, the ACC, which was won by the Wolfpack for the first time in 37 years.
Burns is an intern who is 2 meters 8 centimeters tall, and although he is a little short to play the position of 5 at the international level and despite his corpulence which results in his game being a bit slow, he has quite remarkable efficiency, good footwork and the moment he has his back to the basket, the talent he has to produce is unique.
Where did DJ Burns come from and what was his childhood like?
Burns grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina, under the teachings and care of his parents Dwight and Takela, who leave it for granted that from a very young age DJ had the confidence, in himself and in the game, that can be seen today. “It’s that and not arrogance, as some believe,” the mother accepts. From a very young age, Burns had two great motivations and passions in his life: basketball and the saxophone. Until high school he kept both, until the time came where he had to decide on one of them and it was the basketball. “It’s no coincidence how he plays. He does it at a rhythm as if he were listening to music,” Takela compares.
In high school he always stood out, especially on the basketball court., much more so when he grew to 2 meters tall when he was in eighth grade (14 years old). His numbers in high school were quite positive where he was able to average 13 points and 11 rebounds in his first year, then he went to 14 and 8 in the second, maintaining these averages in the third (14 and 10) to win the MVP award of a state tournament.
The abuses he had to suffer since he was little
DJ Burns’ parents also commented that historically the player had to deal with negative comments about his body. “There have always been ugly, negative people, but he has done a great job blocking all that energy. He never deviated from his passion and his goal, which was to grow and fulfill his dreams,” said his mother.
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