Every year in the NCAA tournament it seems like there is one player that comes out of nowhere and becomes a hero not only for his team, but for everyone who likes to root on the little guys who lived out their dreams and more on the game's biggest stage.
In last year's tournament, that honor fell on NC State's DJ Burns. The 6' 9'' forward was a big reason why the Wolfpack were able to get into the big dance by winning the ACC tournament and then he strung together some clutch performances while leading the No. 11 seed all the way to the Final Four, where they fell to Purdue in the national semifinals.
DJ Burns Jr. vs Duke
— Frankie Vision (@Frankie_Vision) March 31, 2024
29 PTS (13-19 FG)
4 REBS
3 AST
2 BLKS
How we feeling about bros game… League? pic.twitter.com/TatqtbzG9y
Burns had an electric personality that made it easy for casual fans to root for NC State:
CBS gave NC State star DJ Burns ice cream after beating Texas Tech in the first round and he immediately tried to pass it off to someone else. pic.twitter.com/CEyVjYeJHG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 22, 2024
He had fun taunting Duke fans at the end of NC State's win in the Elite Eight:
DJ Burns clowning Duke fans at the end of the Elite 8 game.
— College Sports Only 🏈 🏀 ⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) April 1, 2024
- "Your season is over"
- "It's over"
- Slit-throat motion
We don't deserve this man. pic.twitter.com/xuo5iBWP3m
He won over NBA three-time MVP Nikola Jokic with his play:
Nikola Jokic on NC State star DJ Burns:
— DNVR Sports (@DNVR_Sports) March 31, 2024
"He’s amazing… I think he's so skilled, especially lefty...seems like teammates like to play with him. Gotta be a good guy." pic.twitter.com/ihlZb5Bznk
And he gave everything he had in the Final Four run:
"Just to be part of this is everything I could've asked for."
— 99.9 The Fan (@999TheFan) April 7, 2024
DJ Burns on the run to the Final Four for NC State basketball, what it's meant to the Wolfpack, himself, and being part of the journey with so many. pic.twitter.com/Gll0am0Hhx
So where is he now? Burns spent time with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League last year and is currently playing for Sono Skygunners of the South Korean KBL.
Who will become the face of this year's tournament? We'll have to wait and see. But whoever it is will have big shoes to fill because DJ Burns put on quite a show.
More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Where NC State’s 2024 NCAA Tournament Hero DJ Burns is Now .
