DJ Horne’s 3-point shooting heats up as ACC play approaches

NC State graduate guard DJ Horne stood in front of his locker in the bowels of PNC Arena with a new object around his neck: a diamond-encrusted chain with a pendant in the shape of his initials. 

“Thank you to NIL,” Horne said with a laugh. “You’ll start seeing this a lot. This is my first little piece, but I’m definitely proud about it.”

Horne’s new bit of jewelry seems to be worn in celebration of victories, so it was broken out after the Pack downed Saint Louis 82-70 on Wednesday night. And if Horne plays like he did against the Billikens every night, which is becoming a trend, his neckwear may continue to make appearances. 

The Cary native scored 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep to help NC State to its eighth win of the season, and his efficiency from beyond the arc was not a fluke. It was his third straight game with at least four made 3-pointers, and his fifth such performance in the team’s first 11 games. 

Horne hit six triples against UT Martin on Dec. 12 and then he followed that with four more against No. 12 Tennessee on Saturday night. In each of those contests, his accuracy remained above 57% from deep.

This was the ability that NC State coach Kevin Keatts thought he was going to see from Horne, who averaged 12.5 points the past two seasons at Arizona State.  

“He’s a scorer,” Keatts said. “He can really score the basketball. He’s seeing a big rim now. I think at the beginning of the year he was shooting about 30% and people were like, ‘Man, what is wrong with DJ Horne?’ He had to learn how to play the way we play, meaning getting after you, pressing, playing defense.”

Horne had a slow start against the Billikens with just four points in the first half, but he emerged from the halftime break with a mindset to knock down shots. He hit four of his five 3-point tries in the last 20 minutes to drop 14 in the period.

As Horne played just nine minutes in the first half, he tried to stay ready as much as he could on the bench, and it appeared to work.

“Basketball players, you never really want to leave the court, so just staying locked in, cheering for your teammates, staying connected in the game, is what helps you stay locked into the game,” Horne said. “When I got back on the court, I was still ready. Got a good stretch coming out of the half and my teammates did a good job of finding me.”

Horne has been in double figures in each of the Pack’s last five games after he put together three of those efforts in the team’s first six games. It has ballooned his season average to 13.6 and he has eclipsed the 40% mark from three (40.3%). 

What has been the change for Horne? Not much, honestly. 

“Just trying to stay true to myself,” Horne said. “I know that as a basketball player, there’s two parts to it: a mental part and a physical part. I definitely wanted to keep my mental in check as much as I could because if I did start to let it get to my head, it was going to go totally downhill from there.”

Horne kept his same shooting stroke, and his confidence has not seemed to waver at all this season. Now, it is paying dividends as the non-conference slate comes to a close against Detroit Mercy on Saturday afternoon. 

After that contest, the Pack will enter its holiday break before it takes the floor against Virginia on Jan. 3 at home to resume conference play. NC State won its ACC opener at Boston College on Dec. 2, but the heart of the league schedule is approaching. 

North Carolina awaits once the Pack is done with the Cavaliers, which does not create an easy start to the bulk of league play. With that in mind, Horne, who grew up watching ACC in the triangle, was excited for what is to come. 

“We definitely want to just tune up every little thing that we can before we go into the new year,” Horne said. “The ACC is a tough conference. [It’s] my first year playing in it. I want to make a bang in it and lead us into March. Definitely looking forward to it.

If Horne’s 3-point shooting continues at its torrid pace, that will bode well for the Wolfpack, which will try to build an NCAA Tournament resume in the coming weeks. A postseason bid is already on the team’s mind, and NC State knows an at-large hopes are still on the table with a solid showing in conference play.

But, for now, Horne is focused on lighting up the scoreboard with his 3-pointers, which also bring life to the Wolfpack’s home crowd as each one falls. 

“I love hearing PNC get loud after we hit threes,” Horne said. “I love interacting with them. The more we start to make, the more fun we start to have as a team. I think that it’s big.”