D.J. Burns Jr. transfer officially announced by NC State basketball
NC State basketball has officially announced a large addition to its roster for next season, literally and figuratively. Winthrop post player D.J. Burns Jr. , who previously announced his verbal commitment, was confirmed by the school via a statement Thursday morning.
“I’m excited to add DJ to our program,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “He is one 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 is the No. 103 available prospect in the transfer portal according to the On3 Top 150 basketball transfer portal targets. He becomes the second player in the top 150 to transfer to NC State basketball, joining former Ole Miss guard Jarkel Joiner, who was No. 88 on the list.
The 6-foot-9, 275-pounder from Rock Hill, S.C., was the Big South Conference Player of the Year last season, averaging 15.0 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 62.7 percent from the field in 20.6 minutes per game.
In four games against Power Five competition Vanderbilt, Washington State, Washington and Mississippi State, Burns reached double figures three times and averaged 16.0 points per contest overall. Burns shot 60.0 percent in those contests.
Burns redshirted at Tennessee in 2019 before transferring to Winthrop. In 2020, Burns was the Big South Conference Freshman of the Year and second-team all-league after averaging 11.9 points and 4.1 boards per contest.
The following season, he was honorable mention All-Big South when he averaged 10.1 points and 3.4 rebounds a game.
In those two years, he shot 58.3 and 58.2 percent respectively from the field.
Burns will have two seasons of eligibility left.
DJ Burns is fourth transfer pickup for NC State basketball
Joiner was the Rebels’ leading scorer last year, averaging 13.2 points per game and is considered a strong defender in the backcourt. Joiner averaged 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game along with 2.3 assists.
Joiner made his commitment to NC State basketball on April 20.
NC State basketball has also added former La Salle wing Jack Clark and former Utah post player Dusan Mahorcic.
This past year, Clark, a 6-foot-8, 200-pounder from Cheltenham, Pa., contributed 12.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. He had three games of at least 20 points, including in two of his last three contests. He had a season-high 30 points to go with eight rebounds in a win over Duquesne.
He made an official visit to NC State basketball before committing April 19.
The 6-foot-10, 225-pound Mahorcic is well-traveled.
The Serbia native started his career at a NAIA school (Lewis University) before moving on to a junior college (Moberly Area). That led to a scholarship at the mid-major level of Division I college basketball, Illinois State.
There, Mahorcic averaged 9.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 59.1 percent from the field against a schedule made entirely of Missouri Valley Conference opponents.
Mahorcic entered the transfer portal after that season to multiple Power Five options and chose Utah. Mahorcic averaged 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 13 games, shooting 42.1 percent.
He was officially announced by NC State on May 4.
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