NC State coach Kevin Keatts believes DJ Burns is one of the best post players in the country

NC State coach Kevin Keatts sat at a table inside the film room of the Dail Basketball Center in front of more than a dozen media members Thursday, and hesitated when Wolfpack graduate forward DJ Burns Jr.’s name came up. 

“He, you know. Look, it’s — I may have…” Keatts started to say.   

Did he want to make a proclamation about his big man? Yes. And finally, he did. 

“You guys can print it,” Keatts said with a smile. “I may have the best back-to-the-basket post guy [in Burns]. And it’s so hard, man. But he is tough. He’s lefty, he can score it in different ways.”

Burns arrived in Raleigh last season, and soon became a staple for the Wolfpack — on and off the court. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds a game in 34 appearances en route to an All-ACC Honorable Mention selection. 

Not bad for someone who started the season coming off the bench a year removed from being named the Big South Conference Player of the Year at Winthrop. 

At the beginning of his first season with the Wolfpack, Burns averaged 16 minutes a contest and his limited action continued into December.

But when Wolfpack forward Dusan Mahorcic went down with an injury last season, Keatts inserted Burns into the starting lineup, where he averaged close to 30 minutes a night. And after that, the big man took off — both in his play on the court, and in his fun-loving personality off it.

“The legend of DJ Burns was born,” Keatts said. “He’s going to be mayor of the city one day. He is what he is.”

The 6-foot-9, 275-pound forward has embraced his popularity around the city after he returned for his final year of college basketball this season. And that smiling face many see on the court and around town isn’t fabricated. It’s authentic. 

“Honestly, I’ve just been myself,” Burns said. “I guess that’s something that people have gravitated towards. It’s been nothing but a blessing. I haven’t done too much of outside of being myself. It’s all been love.”

But there is one thing that Burns might not be a huge fan of — taking pictures. He does it, but as his popularity on campus has grown, so have the photo requests from those passing by him. 

Even though it’s a lot, Burns has embraced the support from the NC State fan base. 

“It’s a lot of pictures,” Burns said. “I take a lot of pictures. That’s the one thing I don’t know about so much. The love is always there wherever we go, whether it’s in the city or on campus. It’s always love.”

During NC State’s media day Thursday afternoon, Burns easily attracted the biggest crowd of television cameras and reporters — and he stood head and shoulders above everyone in the room. 

He said he’s worked on reading out of double teams this offseason, an expected defense from many teams. While he’s the biggest player on NC State’s roster, Keatts continued to praise Burns’ passing ability and his soft touch. 

The seventh-year coach said that each time the Wolfpack needed a big pass, Burns seemed to be there — even if his assist to turnover ratio isn’t the greatest. But that’s OK for Keatts and company. They have a scorer in the post with Burns’ large frame.

In addition to his work on passing out of a defense, Burns is starting to take a bigger leadership role on the Wolfpack with eight newcomers — seven transfers and a freshman — added to the roster ahead of this season. 

“Yeah, I definitely have already, but with Jarkel [Joiner] being our most vocal guy [last season], I definitely had to do that,” Burns said. “I’m trying my best to be a leader for my guys.”

With the Wolfpack scheduled to open practice on Monday, Burns appears to be ready to go for his last season in Raleigh. He’s quickly become a fan-favorite, and now with Keatts’ decree that Burns is the best back-to-the-basket player in the country, the rest of the NCAA may find out who NC State’s big man is. 

And for Burns, who’s at his third school after he started his career at Tennessee, Keatts’ admiration for him might be the motivation that he needed to prove to the country that his coach was right.

“That’s that confidence that he has in us,” Burns said of Keatts. “It gives you life when your coach is right there behind you, instilling that confidence in you.”