DJ Horne gives emotional interview after winning ACC Tournament: 'I'm at a loss for words'
With one year of eligibility remaining after two impressive seasons at Arizona State, DJ Horne decided it was time to go home. After entering the transfer portal, he committed to NC State in his hometown of Raleigh with one goal in mind: win a championship.
Saturday night, NC State completed an incredible journey, going from Tuesday’s first round of the ACC Tournament to Saturday’s title game to defeat in-state rival North Carolina. Horne and the No. 10-seeded Wolfpack put together quite a run in Washington, D.C., even though he didn’t play in that opener against Louisville.
Afterward, the emotions flowed.
“I’m at a loss for words right now,” Horne told ESPN’s Jess Sims after the game. “I came home with a mission, man. And to just see this right now, all the confetti all over the place, red and white, man. It’s for the city, man. This is for [the] 919, man. I love my brothers. I couldn’t play in the first game because I was hurt, and they got the dub for me and gave me the opportunity to make this happen. And I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for them.
“I just want to say shoutout Wolfpack Nation, man. The job’s not done. And like I said from the jump, why not us?”
Horne led the way for NC State on Saturday night at Capital One Arena, dropping a team-high 29 points before picking up his fifth foul with 1:41 to play. It was the type of performance the Wolfpack needed going up against No. 1-seeded North Carolina, which won both regular season matchups.
But as the saying goes, it’s tough to beat a team three times. NC State avoided that, and the Wolfpack are going dancing.
For DJ Horne, it will be his second straight March Madness appearance. Last year, he helped Arizona State make the Field of 68 in his second season with the program after transferring from Illinois State, where he was an All-Missouri Valley Conference season in 2021. It also adds to the special nature of a year in which he’s averaging a career-best 16.5 points.
Now, NC State will wait to find out its fate along with the rest of the automatic qualifiers and potential at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show is coming up on Sunday, and the Wolfpack are officially off the bubble after this week’s run. On3’s James Fletcher III projected them to be a No. 12 seed in his updated Bracketology after the game ended.