With NC State's historic run led by big man DJ Burns Jr. coming to an end, it’s time to talk about one of the stupidest narratives I’ve read about throughout the tournament.
I get it, you see this absolute mammoth of a human leading a team that was ranked #11 coming into this thing all the way to the Final Four, and whoever is above you is breathing down your neck trying to get you to get a story out. Seeing his footwork and how big of a guy he is, it’s easy to think about him having past experiences in football, but don’t say “NFL scouts have watched his nimble footwork and suggested he might be an intriguing prospect for the league” (AP News). No specific teams or anything like that. Just a quote that zero people can prove to be correct or incorrect.
The NFL? Sure, he’s played football in the past, but only up until he got his first basketball scholarship. It’s clear that DJ is focused on what is the most important basketball game in his career and not some stupid story about him just waltzing into the NFL with absolutely zero football experience past high school. And you’re going to ask him that question? Credit to DJ for shutting down this narrative because if I saw one more article or Bleacher Report Instagram post I was going to slam my head into the wall.
I mean even his own coach got a kick out of it. “Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said he hasn’t received a single call about Burns as a football player, and that the game doesn’t really fit his personality anyway” (AP News). I feel as if it’s pretty obvious he hasn’t gotten any calls from NFL Scouts. He’s playing in Division 1 basketball. This whole narrative is just what's wrong with the media. If you’re going to take a story that’s outright unrealistic just to fill up your word count, don’t write anything at all.
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