Burns officially joins Pack
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State men's basketball head coach Kevin Keatts announced Thursday that the Pack has added DJ Burns to the program.
“I’m excited to add DJ to our program,” Keatts said. “He is of the most productive and efficient big men in college basketball. It would be a mistake to assume he just uses his size to bully people. He does effectively use his body, but he’s also light on his feet and athletic. He’s a real threat offensively and we’re thrilled to add him to our frontcourt.”
Burns comes to the Pack from Winthrop and has two years of eligibility remaining.
The Rock Hill, S.C. native was the Big South Player of the Year last season after averaging 15.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He also led the Big South in field goal percentage, shooting 62.6 percent from the field. He was a Big South All-Conference First-Team Selection and voted onto the NABC All-District First Team.
Burns had a career-high 30 points in the season-opener against Mary Baldwin. He posted eight games of 20 or more points and scored in double figures in 26 games. He registered his first career double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds against Charleston Southern. Burns posted 24 points and added nine rebounds in Winthrop’s upset win at Washington.
In 2020-21, Burns averaged 10.1 points per game and was a Big South Honorable Mention selection. He posted double figures in 12 games, including a season-high 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting in the Big South Championship game vs. Campbell. He was named to the Big South All-Tournament team after averaging 13.3 points and shooting 68 percent from the floor in three Winthrop wins.
Burns was the 2019-20 Big South Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-League selection in his debut season at Winthrop. He was named the Big South Freshman of the Week five times and led the conference in field goal percentage at 58.3 percent, while averaging 11.9 points per game. He scored 16 points in the Big South Championship game to lead the Eagles to a tournament title.
Burns was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2018 and originally signed with Tennessee but redshirted in his only year in Knoxville. Burns was the third-ranked prospect in South Carolina in high school, behind only Zion Williamson and Ja Morant who were the top-two picks in the 2019 NBA Draft.
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