In English, there are plenty of good puns to be made when calling each other DJ Burns and we lost weight. All joking aside, the imposing North Carolina State interior surprised all the scouts during his tryouts. Like the one done for the Pacers. Weighing 128 kilos, for 2m06, in the NCAA, the left-handed pivot has lost 20 kilos since the end of the university season.
“I do a lot of running”, explains Burnswho jogs every day from 5:00 a.m. “I tried a lot to find out which foods I could no longer eat, even though I loved almost all of them. So I found new foods that I like and that work with the plan.”
Duke's executioner
Even though at 23, he has little chance of being drafted, Burns has intrigued scouts since March Madness. Teammate of Frenchman Mohamed Diarra, he averaged 16.2 points on 62% shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in five games. We remember that he scored 29 points, his season record, in the victory against Duke in the Elite Eight.
“I'm a good teammate, a good passer and someone people enjoy being around,” explains Burns, about his qualities. “No one wants to be around a guy who is going to kill the energy of the team. I feel like that’s something I bring.”