After an incredible postseason run with N.C. State that quickly turned him into one of the most likable players in the NCAA tournament, DJ Burns has spent the last few months getting ready for the NBA Draft.
That, as it turns out, involved a wild weight loss journey.
Burns has shed 45 pounds since the Wolfpack’s loss to Purdue in the Final Four in April. Burns was listed at 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds during the season, and he’s still going strong.
“Getting it done and not done. Still more to go,” he told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.
NC State went on one of the best postseason runs in recent tournament history earlier this year. They rolled through the ACC tournament and beat North Carolina in the title game to earn their spot in the NCAA tournament, and then they rolled to the Final Four with upset wins over Marquette and Duke as a No. 11 seed. It marked the program’s first Final Four appearance since 1983.
Burns was dominant inside for the Wolfpack throughout those runs, too. He had 20 points and seven assists in their ACC championship win over North Carolina, and he put up a season-high 29 points over Duke in the Elite Eight. Without him, the Wolfpack’s nine-game win streak that kept extending their season likely wouldn’t have come to fruition.
Since the season ended, though, Burns has picked up his conditioning in an effort to sneak his way into the end of the second round of the NBA Draft this week. As someone who has always been bigger than everyone around him, Burns is finally feeling like himself again.
“I didn’t really like it as much because when you look way different from everybody else, it always looked like I was in fifth grade when I was in third,” he said. “It was like I was supposed to be in college when I was turning 14. It was just always a little awkward for me … I keep hearing people talk about the whole ‘aura’ thing,” he said. “They’re like, the more you lose weight, you lose your aura or something.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ve never felt better in my entire life.’ I have more energy than I think I’ve ever had. I feel like a kid again, the way my body feels.”
didn’t have Burns listed in her final mock draft anywhere, but considering the weaker draft class this summer there’s still a chance a team could reach for him late on Thursday.
Regardless of what happens on draft night or in the coming days, Burns knows he’s prepared for what’s ahead in his basketball career.
“It’s been the most interesting experience of my entire life,” Burns said of the last few months. “I don’t think I’ve ever had to work this hard and be this disciplined. And I think that everything that I’ve learned is something that I can take with me to the league or wherever I end up playing basketball, specifically preparing for the draft. I’m just ready. I don’t think that I’ve ever had the understanding of what I need to do more so than I do now.”
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