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DJ Burns downplays his concern about early foul trouble vs. Duke

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph•04/02/24
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Mar 31, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack forward DJ Burns Jr. (30) reacts on the bench in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils in the finals of the South Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at American Airline Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The NC State Wolfpack took down one of their most bitter ACC rivals, the Duke Blue Devils, to earn a spot in this year’s men’s Final Four. However, some early foul trouble for the Wolfpacks star big man, DJ Burns Jr., almost gave the Blue Devils an opportunity to take an early lead and make it nearly insurmountable.

Following the game, in the postgame press conference, it didn’t appear that Burns saw it like that. When asked about his foul trouble early in the first half, the NC State star didn’t appear concerned, downplaying his two early fouls altogether.

“Well, honestly, I wasn’t too worried about it. Going into halftime, I just knew that the main thing I was thinking, honestly, was that I missed a few shots towards the end, so they weren’t going to double-team me in the second half. I just decided when I came back in to take advantage,” said Burns.

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Hindsight 20/20 is the best vision you could have in a situation like this. It would be tough for anyone to argue against Burns’s point, given his team’s convincing 76-64 victory to move within just two wins of capturing the national championship. And despite the foul trouble, the Wolfpack big man finished the game as the team’s leading scorer with 29 points, adding four rebounds and three assists for good measure.

Burns responds to reported NFL interest

The Wolfpack have, as an 11-seed, made a run to the Final Four and become a darling of the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps no player at NC State has become a bigger darling than the team’s big man, DJ Burns.

Recently, there have even been reports that NFL teams have interest in Burns, if he either doesn’t want to continue playing basketball or has an interest in football. Now, during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Burns has responded to those reports.

“I think that just comes along with our team being trendy right now,” DJ Burns said. “They always find something to talk about and I just happen to be one of the topics.”

At that point, Burns also confirmed to Patrick his intention is to try and make it in the NBA, saying, “That’s the plan.