Kevin Keatts recalls what led him to recruiting DJ Burns
There isn’t anyone who has taken the college basketball world by storm this season quite like NC State’s DJ Burns.
Over the course of NC State’s run to the Final Four, Burns has become a viral sensation, as his play has been steadily impressive and equally unstoppable for opponents of the Wolfpack. Ahead of their chance at a national title, NC State coach Kevin Keatts elaborated on what led him to recruiting Burns to his team.
“That’s one of the better questions I’ve had asked in a long time. Typically I play with two forwards, a Ben and a Mo together. When DJ hit the transfer portal, I was like, man, I got to change. He changed me. I’ve never thrown the ball inside as much as I have in the last couple of years,” Keatts explained. “Great touch. Great footwork. Last year one of his issues, he could pass the ball, but he didn’t have a great assist-to-turnover ratio, and now he is doing that. It’s changed the way I look at post guys now. There’s probably only three of those in the country, and I know we’re going to play a really good one next week at some point.
“I’m looking for some more guys that I can throw the ball inside. I’ve now found out that I can have a mix of throwing the ball to a post guy and having guard play. I mean, tremendous personality. I’ve recruited him since basically when he went to Tennessee out of high school. And obviously when he went into the portal, we looked at everybody in the portal, and we needed some size. He fits the bill. I’m glad he’s here. I’m glad he’s on my team. I don’t know how you guard him. I’m excited, and I hope nobody figures that out.”
Alas, a ton of casual viewers will be rooting for NC State because of DJ Burns and the miraculous run the Wolfpack are on at the moment. We’ll see if Burns and company can continue to get the job done for the reigning ACC Tournament champions, looking to add another trophy to their resume.
Kevin Keatts on reaching Final Four: ‘Our school deserves it’
Alas, it’s been a long time since the NC State men’s basketball team has been on a run like this. And head coach Kevin Keatts was unapologetic about the meaning and value of the run his team has been on back on campus.
Speaking to media after the No. 11 seed Wolfpack beat No. 4 seed Duke to cinch up a berth in the Final Four, Keatts said he felt like the school was deserving of such a moment to bask in. And he made sure to point out he’s not the only coach leading an NC State basketball team into the final weekend of the season.
“It means a lot. Our school deserves it,” Keatts said. “Our players have really worked hard. The fans deserve it. We’ve done a really good job. When I say we, I always say we. I mean, these young men in the locker room through all the adversity that we have we went through, up and downs of winning games and losing games. They never lost their faith and stayed together. It means a lot. It really does. By the way, congratulations to our women’s team too for making the Final Four. That’s really special.”
And though NC State was a long shot to make it this far in the tournament, Keatts shared that this was a goal for the squad all along.
“These young men in the locker room from day one have kind of believed in everything that I’ve preached to them and everything that they talked about,” Keatts said. “At the beginning of the year, we talked about what are your goals, and I think to a man everyone said we want to win the ACC. Check. What’s your other goal? It’s obviously go on and compete for a National Championship, and we’re still alive for that opportunity.”
On3’s Justin Rudolph contributed to this article.