GLENDALE – When NC State big man/cult hero DJ Burns proclaims he has “zero” interest in the NFL, he does not mean he is a fan of the Jaguars’ Calvin Ridley or the Ravens’ Roquan Smith, who wear that digit on their game jerseys.
He’s saying he intends to go pro in a sport he actually plays.
“That’s what the media has to do,” Burns said Thursday in the Wolfpack locker room at State Farm Stadium, where his team will play No. 1 seed Purdue in the first of Saturday’s Final Four semifinals. “They’ve got to keep it interesting for everyone. So I understand it.”
Asked if that meant he had no interest in pursuing an NFL career, he said, ““Zero, yeah. I mean … yeah, zero.”
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Burns has become a star as a result of the Pack’s improbable run through the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament to its first Final Four in more than 40 years. He has scored in double figures in eight of those nine games, including 29 in the South Region final against Duke, and is averaging 16.6 points in March elimination games.
"Yeah, no way he's going to play football," NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. "I mean, listen: He's got a great touch. He's not that bully that you guys think. Listen, you spend some time with him? He's a teddy bear off the court.
"That's why I get so frustrated when they call a charge on him. He doesn't bully you. He just goes around -- he wills around you. I think he's going to play basketball. I really do. Who doesn't want a guy who can really pass and really score the basketball, has got a great personality?
"No way he's going to be a football player. I have not got any calls about that."
It’s understandable, though, that discussions about a football future are following Burns. He is listed at 6-9, 275 pounds – it seems imprudent to quarrel over whether that’s an accurate weight -- and he has exceptional quickness and agility for a player of such size.
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Exceptional college basketball players from Sam Clancy of Pitt to Antonio Gates of Kent State to Mo Alie-Cox of VCU have transitioned to long-term NFL careers. Clancy played 10 years in the league as a defensive lineman. Gates is one of the great pass-catching tight ends in the league’s history and has been a finalist in Pro Football Hall of Fame voting. Alie-Cox finished his basketball career in 2017 and has played with the Colts since 2018.
Alie-Cox became an NFL player although he had not played football following his freshman year in high school. Burns has an even more limited background in the sport.
He played only “until I got my first scholarship offer. And then I quit immediately.” That was when Winthrop reached out in Burns’ eighth-grade year.
For all Burns’ expressed disinterest, his teammates look at him as someone who could successfully make the transition.
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“If he can do it, do it,” guard Jayden Taylor, an Indianapolis native, told The Sporting News. “I think it’s funny. I saw him in a Panthers jersey one time … I think it’s funny, honestly, because I’ve never seen him touch a football. But hey if he could block, I want him to go block for the Colts. Help us.”
KJ Keatts, the son the coach, told TSN emphatically that Burns should give it a try.
“I think he should go do it,” KJ said. "Obviously, I think he’s going to try his basketball route. If, God forbid, that doesn’t go as planned, he should try to go do it. You only live once. Why not? DJ’s very athletic. He’s very quick for his size. I think he’d do well. He’d definitely have to be on the O-line, for sure.”
The NBA’s desire for plus-sized post players has been limited since, at least, the days of Arkansas product Oliver Miller. But Burns is a talent, and it may be selling short his talent to suggest he does not have a future in professional basketball.
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“If anything, it might be a compliment: You can do this, and you’re athletic enough to maybe go do something else. They’ve been doing it since LeBron, saying LeBron could go be a wide receiver,” Taylor told TSN. “I think it’s a compliment.”
The Sporting News asked Burns if he felt it was underestimating him as a basketball player to suggest he would need to pursue a different athletic future.
“Underestimate me all you want,” Burns said. “You see what’s happening.”
