La Familia adds former Murray State forward DJ Burns to TBT roster

Mar 19, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Murray State Racers forward DJ Burns (55) celebrates a play in the first half against the St. Peter's Peacocks during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

DJ Burns (no, not the one who took NC State on a Cinderella run in 2024) is once again linking up with head coach Sean Woods.

Only this time, Burns will play for Woods as a member of La Familia — Kentucky’s alumni team — in The Basketball Tournament, which begins later this summer. Burns, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound power forward, becomes La Familia’s 10th roster addition so far. A native of New Orleans, he played for three different schools across his five-year career: Southern (2019-21), Murray State (2021-23), and Youngstown State (2023-24).

Burns most recently suited up for Maccabi Effie Capital Rishon Le-Zion in the Israeli National League, averaging 17.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per outing last season. He played under Woods while at Southern before making the move to Murray State, where he helped the Racers make a run to the Round of 32 in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Burns and Murray State lost to the same Saint Peter’s squad that upset Kentucky in the previous round.

👀 Roster Alert: DJ Burns Joins La Familia!

We’re excited to welcome DJ Burns — a Murray State product — to the La Familia roster!

The 6’7” forward played overseas last season after a standout college career, where he averaged a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds per… pic.twitter.com/YZdY1q8ytP
— LaFamilia – Kentucky’s TBT Team (@LaFamiliaTBT) June 27, 2025

Burns was productive as a true freshman under Woods, playing all 32 games for Southern while averaging 8.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per outing. He shot 52.5 percent from the floor, even starting a game for the Jaguars. The pandemic limited his 2020-21 sophomore season to just six games.

From there, Burns made the jump to a tougher conference and joined Murray State, becoming an immediate impact player. He started all 34 games as a junior in 2021-22, but took another leap as a junior in 2022-23: 8.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 25.3 minutes per outing in 32 games started.

Still with one year of eligibility remaining going into the 2023-24 campaign, Burns transferred for a third time, finishing his career at Youngstown State. This was easily the best college season of his career. He was tabbed to the All-Horizon League Team and was named to the conference’s All-Defense Team. Burns posted per-game averages of 13.1 points, a league-leading 11 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and one steal in 28.9 minutes across 32 starts. He shot 51.7 percent from the floor while showing off his three-point shot (32.3 percent on three attempts per game) for the first time.

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Now, he’ll team up with a group of former Wildcats for the summer. Below is La Familia’s current 10-player roster:

DJ Burns
Kerem Kanter
Ansley Almonor (2024-25)
Kahlil Whitney (2019–2020)
Aaron Harrison (2013-15)
Andrew Harrison (2013-15)
Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15)
Archie Goodwin (2012–2013)
Doron Lamb (2010–2012)
DeAndre Liggins (2008–2011)

La Familia is the No. 1 seed in the Lexington Regional, which will take place at Memorial Coliseum July 18-22. Their TBT journey will start against Stroh’s Squad on Friday, July 18, at 9:00 p.m. ET on FS1. If La Familia advances to the second round, they will face the winner of War Ready (Auburn Alumni) and X-Rayted on Sunday, July 20, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports.

The Lexington Regional championship game is Tuesday, July 22, at 6 p.m. ET on FS2. Tickets for the Lexington Regional are now on sale at TBTHoops.com/tickets.

The winner of the Lexington Regional will play the winner of the Louisville Regional in the quarterfinals on Monday, July 28, at 6 p.m. on FS1. The semifinals and $1 million winner-take-all championship game will be July 31 and Aug. 3.

TBT Lexington Regional Seed List