NC State’s ‘magical’ run comes to a close, Wolfpack appreciative of what it accomplished

GLENDALE, Ariz. — As NC State walked off the court at State Farm Stadium in the Final Four, there weren’t many heads down. By the time the Wolfpack reached the locker room, it was a disappointed mood, but not a somber one. 

Though NC State lost to No. 1-seed Purdue 63-50, ending its season in the national semifinal, the Wolfpack seemed appreciative of what it did to get on the big stage. NC State, which went 17-14 in the regular season, won nine straight games to advance to the Final Four — something that was nearly unheard of before the red and white’s mad dash to the Phoenix area. 

For Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts, his team’s run had him grateful when he thought back on it.  

“I don’t know that I could be prouder of a group of men that I’ve ever coached in my life,” Keatts said. “Adversity, you name it, situations, you name it, hard times, you name it. They found a way to win the ACC, they found a way to make it to the Final Four. We’re going to leave out of here because Purdue won the game, but we’ll walk out of here with our heads up as champions because of what we’ve been able to provide.”

NC State should not have even been in the NCAA Tournament with how it ended the regular season. The Pack lost 10 of its last 14 games before heading to Washington, D.C., for the ACC Tournament. It was there that the red and white seemed to find a new gear and it became the first team in league history to win five games in as many days to cut the nets down. 

That was the first miraculous accomplishment that the Wolfpack was able to make — and it was aided by one in the process as graduate guard Michael O’Connell hit a buzzer-beating three to send the ACC semifinal to overtime. 

Still, NC State had more in the tank. 

It cruised past Texas Tech and battled upstart Oakland on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh. From there, it moved to Dallas and found even more success. It found a way to move past 2-seed Marquette in the Sweet 16 and stormed back to beat arch rival Duke in the Elite Eight. 

Each win seemed as if NC State found the mountaintop. And finally, it did when it made the Final Four, ending the Blue Devils’ season in the process. 

“Every win we’ve gotten, it’s felt like a championship,” graduate guard DJ Horne said. “To see all the joy and the happiness that it’s brought our university, our city and everything, how many people got behind us, not just from NC State, but the whole country, it just shows when you come together, stick together, what you can do as a team. I’m just grateful that I was a part of it all.”

Horne returned back to the Raleigh area, where he grew up, to bring a title back to the City of Oaks. He helped do that with the league championship, which he did on a sore hip, and was a key cog in the Wolfpack’s NCAA Tournament run. Horne scored in double figures in all but one of NC State’s postseason wins, including a 29-point effort to beat North Carolina in the conference championship game.

The 6-foot-1 guard wanted to change the narrative around his hometown’s program when he arrived. While it took until the postseason to do that, Horne was appreciative of his time with the Wolfpack, though it was just one season. 

“It’s been magical,” Horne said. “There’s been a lot of disrespect on NC State basketball for a long time. Just to know that after this year, what me and my brothers went out there and did, there will be a lot of respect on NC State basketball now.”

Changing how the red and white was viewed in the ACC — and even in the Triangle — was also what motivated NC State’s star big man, graduate forward DJ Burns. He took the country by storm during the Pack’s nine-game winning streak in March, and it was a long way from when he first showed up on campus two seasons ago. 

Burns got to Raleigh fresh off the Wolfpack’s last-place finish in the league. He made it his mission to turn the program around, and he did just that. Burns helped the Wolfpack to an NCAA Tournament appearance last season before leading the team to the Final Four this year. 

“When I got here, I just used to see how [the fans] used to treat us. They used to treat us like we were losers,” Burns said. “I was like, ‘Nah, that’s not what’s happening around here.’ We had to change that around fast and I hope these guys keep that going.”

Burns, who is well aware of NC State’s past success from the 70s and 80s, hoped that the Pack’s run to the Final Four would recapture that in PNC Arena moving forward.

“I hope they bring the basketball culture back,” Burns said. “I hope we gave them something to be happy about, even though we didn’t pull it off. I just hope that the culture is back. I hope they come back with a winning mentality every time they step on the court.”

But how will Burns, who was like a big teddy bear for much of the Wolfpack’s sprint through the tournament, want to be remembered. Was it his 29-point win over Duke in the Elite Eight? How about his patented post moves to get to the rim?

Well, it isn’t either of those. Instead, it is what he gave to the program in his pair of campaigns in the Pack’s red and white. 

“Just remember me as someone who wanted to win,” Burns said. “Someone that wasn’t easy to rattle and someone that was going to give literally everything I’ve got to be successful.”

The Wolfpack was written off before Burns arrived on campus. He was surrounded by six transfers that played crucial roles this season, and it culminated in an accomplishment NC State had not done in more than four decades. 

NC State did not quit, and neither did Burns, who overcame multiple hurdles to keep himself on the court. That perseverance led to a Final Four appearance, which will all but cement Burns and his teammates’ legacy in Raleigh. 

“I’ll remember it as an amazing thing,” Burns said with a slight tear in his eye. “It was the best year of my life, basketball-wise.”

Burns’ mantra that drives him each day seemingly helped change the viewpoint of NC State basketball.

“I always say, the best thing you can do is make life around you better,” Burns said. “And then your life will be good if you make it better for everyone else. That’s how I try to live it.”

Burns accomplished just that. He helped make NC State basketball better than he found it. And he did the same for those around the country that fell in love with his game over the last month. The Pack has something to be proud of through the tournament run, and it is not disappointed in what it was able to accomplish in a four-week span.