LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players
NC State's D.J. Burns, Jarkel Joiner, and Terquavion Smith met with the media following the Wolfpack's 79-77 road win over Wake Forest Saturday afternoon.
Burns powered the offense with 31 points on 14-for-26 shooting against the Demon Deacons while also compiling nine rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and one assist. Joiner tacked on 17 points with four assists, three rebounds, one block, and one steal. Smith added 16 points, two rebounds, and one assist.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch the interview with the Wolfpack players.
On Burns’ level of fatigue…
DJB: Not really much. It’s the same as any game.
On the difference between this game and others the Wolfpack would have in Winston-Salem…
TS: I would say it was us being together. I felt like this was one of the games this year where we were more together in the huddles, on the court, and every timeout. This was the most we’ve been together, as a whole, in a while. I felt us facing adversity together instead of fussing at each other and arguing about little stuff helped us better this game.
On Burns’ performance…
JJ: He does that in practice. It doesn’t matter who guards him. He’s a natural-born scorer. He’s been doing it everywhere he’s been. He came in and practiced with energy. It doesn’t matter if he’s not scoring. In practice, he’s a leader. When you do right, right follows you. He played big-time today.
TS: Like Kel said, D.J. always does that. Ever since I met D.J., there’s never been a day where I’ve seen him not get a bucket. That’s what he does. It’s hard to explain.
On what went through Burns’ mind on the last trip to the free-throw line…
DJB: Just to stay focused. I knew they had to fall eventually, so I wasn’t going to shy away from the basket. I kept trying to draw contact and do whatever I could to help the team win. I didn’t get panicked. It’s either going to fall, or it’s not.
On rallying while Smith was in foul trouble…
JJ: T’s a great teammate. He’s a sophomore, but he’s a leader. He’s a young leader on this team. He kept talking to us and kept talking to me from the guard position. He became a great teammate. When he got back in, he scored a big bucket for us and played great defense with four fouls. T’s grown up a lot since I met him this summer. This is what happens when we play together.
On what changed to help Burns’ shooting efficiency…
DJB: When we went into a timeout, Coach [Kevin] Keatts said, “I don’t want you to start being timid. Stay aggressive. I promise it’s going to work out for you.” That’s exactly what happened. That, alone, gave me the confidence to keep going instead of starting to pass the ball early.
If this game is the biggest win of the year thus far…
TS: As far as the biggest victory of the year, I don’t really count those. All games matter, regardless of if you play home or away. This group that we have now is all about the team. Compared to what we did last year, it’s more about the team this year. Everyone wants to win, so everybody puts the team first. That’s how we pull through.
DJB: This team is starting to get to the point where everybody’s involved, and everybody’s willing to play their role a lot more than in the beginning. The more we understand that, the better we’re going to get as a team and be able to finish games.
On how unstoppable Burns felt…
DJB: Once I got going, it felt like that it was just going to keep going. I had zero intention of stopping once I started. It felt really good. I’ll say that much.
On if Burns had ever been timid on the court…
DJB: I wouldn’t say timid, but I do have a tendency sometimes, when I’m missing shots, to start passing. Today, my teammates gave me a lot of confidence. My coaches gave me a lot of confidence. They told me to keep going and to attack them, and that kept me going.
On if these kinds of games justified transferring to NC State…
JJ: Most definitely. D.J. has a lot of experience in the NCAA Tournament, but I don’t. This is the reason I came here: to be in games like this. It was a big game today. We came together and won, and I’m glad I came here.
DJB: I’ll definitely say this is why I came here. I asked every coach who recruited me, “Who’s going to be on my team? Who are my teammates going to be that I’m going to war with?” When they told me about these two guys and a few other guys, I was sold. It’s a great coaching staff and a great team, and we came to fight. This is exactly why I came here.
On the trash talking from the fans…
DJB: They’re always going to talk. Me being a bigger guy, they’re always going to talk. I feed off of that. I was shaking my head because I don’t understand why they would keep talking. That fires me up.