Inside the locker room: Observations from NC State’s Final Four run
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The dateline on this story is from a stadium positioned in the middle of the desert, but NC State’s run through the NCAA Tournament began long before it made its way to State Farm Stadium and the Final Four.
The Wolfpack, which was not even supposed to be in this spot, found a way to do it. Somehow, some way, NC State embarked on an improbable dash to college basketball’s biggest stage in front of 74,720 fans just outside of Phoenix on Saturday night.
But the path to this moment was born through an evolution that the red and white went through across a nine-game winning streak. As someone who was there for all 10 games during the Wolfpack’s mad dash through the postseason, here are some observations I had from how the team came together to create a historic run to the Final Four.
Confidence grew with each win
Mar 31, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Michael O’Connell (12) and forward DJ Burns Jr. (30) celebrate in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils in the finals of the South Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at American Airline Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
NC State’s locker room had an uneasy vibe at the beginning of the ACC Tournament. It knew that its season was on the line in every game it had left in front of it, and it did not enter Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. with the best momentum.
The Wolfpack lost 10 of its last 14 regular season games, including its last four going into the postseason. But the red and white believed that it could win in the postseason. Graduate guards Casey Morsell and DJ Horne were the first to voice that on the Monday before the tournament.
That, in turn, helped the rest of the locker room believe.
NC State dug deep to beat Louisville, a team it trailed by 12 in the early going, and that win seemed to help. Once it beat Syracuse by 18 in the second round, NC State’s locker room began to gain confidence. And the win over Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals was the key that unlocked the Pack’s faith in winning the whole thing.
The Wolfpack’s players oozed with confidence, though they noted they were taking each game one at a time. By the time it beat Virginia in the semifinals, NC State seemed as if it was not going to lose again. Not just by the play on the court — graduate guard Michael O’Connell’s heroic buzzer-beating three to force overtime — but among the group afterwards.
Smiles were all around, but a business-like attitude remained. The Pack knew it could beat North Carolina in the title game the following day, and it did. That had the red and white on cloud nine, and despite the fact they played five games in as many days.
That run made the team feel “unstoppable,” as junior forward Ben Middlebrooks later put it.
And when NC State arrived in Pittsburgh for its first two NCAA Tournament games, the Wolfpack didn’t appear like the team it did in the regular season. It looked like a squad that was among the top-25 teams in the nation.
It played like it too.
NC State’s trust in one another only grew after each victory, a trend that continued through the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight wins over Marquette and Duke, respectively. By the time it reached the Arizona desert, NC State oozed a sense of belief that it could win the whole thing.
The Wolfpack had Super Smash Bros on a Nintendo Switch on a TV in the locker room, and it was frequented by a lot of players, but not as much as Middlebrooks appeared to play it. That encapsulated how loose the team was — it also vibed out to its boombox before the open practice and Final Four game like it had all postseason.
Even after NC State’s season came to an end with a 63-50 loss to Purdue on Saturday night, the Wolfpack’s underclassmen had a sense of belonging about them. They helped prove the Pack could play on the national stage — and some of them were already looking ahead to how they would get back to the Final Four next year.
Kevin Keatts coached his tail off
Apr 6, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts reacts after a play against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half in the semifinals of the men’s Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
There were a lot of doubters across the country after the way NC State ended the regular season on whether or not Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts could get the team over the hump. There was a lot of speculation on social media about Keatts’ job security in year seven, but he handled that with class.
Keatts never wavered. He was loose from the second the postseason began, cracking jokes before the Louisville game. Keatts also went out of his way to show off his custom Adidas sneakers twice, once in Pittsburgh (those showcased the ACC championship) and once in Phoenix (those represented the nine straight wins to get to the Final Four).
Keatts did not give up on his team, and he did not lose it, either. It would have been easy for the team to quit on Keatts — or for him to give up. Neither happened, and it culminated in something beautiful.
The Wolfpack rallied behind its coach, many players referenced his job security speculation throughout the postseason, and it believed in what Keatts was doing. He was able to get each player to buy into their role in a meeting just before the ACC Tournament, and that led to the Pack playing as one.
While the Wolfpack banded together, its defense, which was shaky at times this season, stepped up to a new level. It did not allow any team to shoot better than 40% from the field, and it limited the elite offenses of Marquette and Duke to sub 34% shooting nights from the floor.
Even in the Final Four loss to the Boilermakers, Keatts had the Wolfpack’s defense playing at another level. NC State held Purdue to 63 points, a season low, while the No. 1-seed shot 40% from the field (second-lowest this season) and committed 16 turnovers (second-most this season).
That, in itself, is an accomplishment. NC State’s offense, on the other hand, did not have its best night and the Pack struggled to hit shots. That comes with the territory of playing in a tournament setting, but Keatts’ ability to get his team to buy in and play elite defense for the entire run is something worth appreciating.
DJ Burns is an NC State legend
Apr 6, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack forward DJ Burns Jr. (30) drives against Purdue Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) in the semifinals of the men’s Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
All season, NC State fans have been drawn towards graduate forward DJ Burns. But once the postseason arrived, the rest of the country joined in on the party.
Burns is a likable figure. He may have a 6-foot-9, 275-pound frame, but Burns has a joyful smile. His gap-toothed grin is easy for anyone to gravitate towards, and the national audience did just that.
Though he has a teddy bear personality, Burns’ presence on the court made him the icon of the tournament. He has a unique style of play, but man, is it fun to watch. Burns can toy with nearly every defender, making his way to the rim with his signature post moves to spin towards the hoop.
And in the NCAA Tournament, that was no different.
Burns scored 16 points in the opening win over Texas Tech before he had a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double in the second round win over Oakland. He had an off shooting night against Marquette with 4 points, but he dished seven assists with flash to make up for that. Burns closed the tournament with a 29-point effort against Duke in the Elite Eight and an 8-point, four-assist game against Purdue in the Final Four.
Not bad for a once mid-major star, who was named the NCAA Tournament South Regional Most Outstanding Player for his work.
While Burns handled himself on the court like most expected, he did the same in the locker room. As each round progressed, the legend of DJ Burns did too. The crowd around his locker grew from tournament site to tournament site, which later led to him pulling up a chair in the middle of the locker room before the Final Four.
No matter if the questions were about his music talents, his football future (which he is not interested in) or basketball, Burns handled himself with the utmost class. His play on the court may have deemed him an NC State legend that deserves his jersey in the PNC Arena rafters, but so did his off the court attitude, even after the team’s season ended.
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