Funderburk: "I've Been Working On My Aggression"
NC State senior forward D.J. Funderburk is high on the Wolfpack heading into the start of the season.
Is it difficult to focus on basketball when everything is up in the air, or is it helpful to just focus on basketball and just let everything play out?
From the jump, since I don’t really have much control over behind the scenes, I just want a start date for practice. I didn’t care about the start of game day. I just wanted to know when we would practice. We’ve got that day coming tomorrow, and the NCAA came out and told us what day we could start playing, so that’s that. I never really worried about it.
What was it like going through the NBA Draft process without being able to do individual workouts or the combine? What was some of the advice you were given during that process?
The best advice I was given was to keep my head down and keep working. ‘You don’t have to find them. They’ll find you eventually.’ That was my whole mindset in the summer: to work on the things that teams wanted to see me improve on.
For a little bit, I was thinking about workouts and stuff like that, but I figured, with COVID going on, the majority of them would go with the guys they’d been looking at. I never really thought about anything else other than just to keep working and improving so that, when I get that call, I can be there.
Were you able to do any workouts virtually?
No, I didn’t work out with any teams. I never talked to any teams personally. They talked through my family and other people I’m connected with. They would tell me information, and I would take it as I take it, go back to the gym, and improve on what they said I needed to touch on.
What did they say you needed to improve on most?
Being more dominant, trying to take over the game. A couple of teams felt like there were a few games last year where I would score a lot or do a lot to help my team, but the other half, I wouldn’t say slack off, but my presence wouldn’t be felt as much as it was before.
That was one thing. I overheard Coach talk about my shooting ability. That was another big thing for me, so I’ve been working on that. I’ve been working on my aggression and not trying to pass the ball all of the time because I most likely tried to pass the ball all the time last year.
How much was Keatts a contributing factor to helping you make the right decision during that process?
Coach Keatts was helpful for me, supportive in whatever decision I made, and understood at the end of the day that it was up to me and my family for the best decision that I would have made to either come back or leave for the NBA. Just him understanding that, I respected that, my family respected that, and I feel like I made the right choice coming back.
How much do you feel your shooting has improved this offseason?
I didn’t really change my shot or anything. It was more just thinking, the mental part of my shooting, and overthinking. Maybe I’d catch the ball and it would slip down the bottom of my palm, and I’m thinking I’ve got to push it higher.
I was just thinking too much and just in my own head. I got in the gym more. When you get in the gym more, you just get a lot more confidence. It’ll work itself out after that.
In what ways have you tried to improve yourself to be able to contribute more as a dominant big man?
First and foremost, my conditioning. I feel like that’s the biggest part of it. My timing is there, my IQ is there, and my heart is there. Sometimes, I might get gassed, so I’ve been working on the conditioning part of it a lot. If I last longer in the game, I’ve got more energy, so I can keep doing what I’ve been doing.
Have you added more weight? What have you done to change your body?
No, I’ve actually dropped weight. Last year, I was playing around 235-238 the majority of the time, and it was okay because I was mostly playing the five. I feel like this year I’m a little more mobile and I can do a little bit more. I didn’t want to be the same weight, and I kind of felt sluggish here and there. I didn’t like the way I was playing then.
I try to play around 225, but I’ve tried to get a little more stronger, so I’ve been going hard in the weight room, trying to make sure I’m ready for the season.
With Manny Bates developing as another big man inside, does that free you up to do more things?
Definitely. Manny is a great post player. This year, he got a lot more confidence in his abilities. It’s going to attract defense because he’s a problem down low. If he’s attracting defenses, somebody else on the team is open whether it’s me, Braxton [Beverly], or Devon [Daniels]. He’s going to have a big contribution to our team as far as offense.