Kevin Keatts: D.J. Burns is 'so important' to NC State

DJ Burns is coming off his first season at NC State where he posted a great year in his career. Now, as one of the Wolfpack’s few returning players, Kevin Keatts knows just how crucial of a role that he is going to play for them in Raleigh next season.

Keatts complimented Burns’ impact in an interview on 99.9 The Fan last week. He said Burns’ importance to their program goes beyond just one thing. To name a few, he mentioned traditional low-post scoring, playmaking, and leadership by being one of the players who sets the tone.

“He is so important to us in a lot of ways,” Keatts said. “Number one, it’s hard to find a guy who can score in college basketball with their back to the basket. It just doesn’t happen anymore. There may be five of those players in the country. And then his ability, his willingness to make easy passes or the right play? That’s a plus for our team.”

“Then, obviously, we don’t let him off the hook now. We expect him to run the floor too now and to be able to get some easy baskets,” continued Keatts. “His leadership? He and Casey Morsell are the two guys who started last year. And so they’re the two guys that are a kind of tone setter for the rest of the guys to show them what the program is about.”

Burns arrived at NC State last year from the transfer portal after spending the previous three with Winthrop. In career-high minutes, he averaged 12.5 points on 56.1% shooting from the field. From there, he posted career-best statistics in rebounds (4.8), assists (1.5), blocks (0.9), and steals (0.7).

Burns was the Wolfpack’s third-leading scorer last season, and leading scorer that’s returning this season, as well as their best rebounder that’s back on board.

In his fifth season, Burns is going to play a big role again for NC State. His 6’9, 275-pound presence will be felt in more ways than one, though, according to Keatts.

Keatts excited to get DJ Burns back at NC State

NC State lost its top two scorers this offseason but still has a healthy chunk of production coming back from an NCAA Tournament team.

To Kevin Keatts, getting forward DJ Burns back was huge.

“I think it’s huge that he came back,” Keatts said. “He’s such a tremendous personality. If you could say what’s a great fit for NC State? It’s DJ Burns. That’s both on and off the court.”

“In today’s games, there are not many back-to-the-basket low post guys who can score and pass. And to have a guy like him to come back to our program means a lot and it shows you the love that he got in the program,” Keatts said. “He saw success both on and off the court.

“I thought it was important. When you look at last year’s team, we had maybe three guys that returned that played a lot of minutes. And this particular team having both DJ and Casey Morsell come back that were starters for us, playing in a big role? It means a lot to our program.”

The goal with DJ Burns back is to continue to build him up as a player. With a little development, Burns could get there.

“Just expanding his game. Having him to be a face-up guy, make a few plays off the dribble,” Keatts said. “Even though he is a very efficient passer, his numbers don’t always be great. So we want to make sure that he continues in that role.

“We know, because of his ability and losing Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner early in the year, people are probably going to try to throw a couple double-teams at him. He’ll have to make the right decisions and ball-handling and all that other stuff. As we tell all of our guys, not just DJ, I want everybody to get in the best shape of their life. That’s every guy on our team.”