An ACC Tournament MVP, the Most Outstanding Player of the South Region in the NCAA tournament, the undisputed face of the best NC State men’s basketball season since 1983 and a smile that could light up a room.
Former NC State men’s basketball forward DJ Burns set a high bar, leaving a legacy both on the court and off that’s tough to echo. Burns became America’s sweetheart during March, averaging 15.7 points in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments on the way to a conference title and a Final Four appearance. His smooth footwork, precision passing and infectious joy captivated the country.
Burns’ legend swept the landscape of college basketball as two of the top-four most-watched men’s games featured the Wolfpack, including the team’s Elite Eight matchup with Duke that topped the charts. His 29-point explosion against the Blue Devils capped one of the most magical runs in college basketball history.
Burns served as the Alpha Wolf Starter — a hype-man role for key contributors to the University — for NC State football’s season opener, drawing a thundering ovation in Carter-Finley Stadium from fans whose lifelong devotion was realized in March. While this served as a bookend for last year’s team, the page was turned on Nov. 2 when a trio of returning stars — graduate guard Michael O’Connell, senior guard Jayden Taylor and senior forward Ben Middlebrooks — served as the Alpha Wolf Starters for the Wolfpack’s game against Stanford. Almost symbolically, it took three to fill the void left behind.
“I think it’s more of a depth team,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “I think on any given night, anybody can lead us in scoring. I don’t know that we’re gonna have [Burns] and DJ Horne now. I will say this, neither one of them were [Burns] and [Horne] at the beginning of the year. It took a little time and they got better. It was good to see.”
One of the returning Alpha Wolf Starters, Middlebrooks, is looking forward to the opportunity to play his part for a new-look Pack team. In his second season in Raleigh, Middlebrooks has enhanced his shot selection, both in the interior and beyond the arc, and has improved as a rim-protector, blocking four shots against USC-Upstate to open the year.
“Obviously huge shoes to fill with Burns and [forward Mohamed Diarra],” Middlebrooks said. “Doing their things and moving on, but I’m excited. I feel like there’s a lot of things I haven’t shown and a lot of things I’ve worked on this summer, this past couple months. I’m really excited to kind of get out there and see how it pays off.”
Through four games, Middlebrooks has complemented senior forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, a Louisville transfer who’s started the prior three outings. The former five-star recruit was an All-ACC honorable mention and a force in the paint, finishing top-five in the conference in rebounds last season.
After going 8-24 at Louisville last season, Huntley-Hatfield wanted a change of scenery that would bring his college journey to a rewarding close, settling on the Wolfpack.
“I was looking for an opportunity to come and win in my last year,” Huntley-Hatfield said. “I just wanted to get somewhere I could win and be a focal point, where I could help us win in a major way.”
Following an 81-72 win over Presbyterian, Keatts commented on the new big-man pairing.
“I thought both [Huntley-Hatfield] and [Middlebrooks] complemented each other,” Keatts said. “I didn’t plan this out, but both played around 20 minutes, and you look at 11 points [from Huntley-Hatfield], and then what did [Middlebrooks] have, 16? I thought both of them were really good.”
Huntley-Hatfield, who is averaging 12 points and 4.5 rebounds in 21 minutes per game, sees his skill set in a similar light to Burns’.
“Being able to dominate inside, dominate the pain, which Burns did, that’s who I am now,” Huntley-Hatfield said. “I don’t fight it anymore. Being able to do that, and then being able to do things I didn’t do last year and have that translate to winning, I feel like everything that I want will be right in front of me. It’ll put our team in a very good position like they were last year.”
Already, the duo has proven to be a formidable rotation down low, creating the same problems for opponents that Burns and Diarra did last year. Middlebrooks’ improvement as a rim protector and Huntley-Hatfield’s ability to dominate inside gives NC State a well-rounded big-man pairing that can both defend and score, making them a threatening rotation that excels on both ends of the floor. While Burns will be missed it seems like the Wolfpack has a frontcourt duo that can fill the void the big man left.
“We go at each other every day,” Middlebrooks said. “[Huntley-Hatfield] is an incredible player. I said that a lot about Burns last year. Having another guy like that on the team, a dominant, very skilled big, we’ve been able to go against that every day. It only makes me better, and I’m excited to see how we play together and, obviously, see how we both have success this season.”
Senior forward Ben Middlebrooks jumps to block the ball during the men's basketball game against Colgate in the Lenovo Center on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. Middlebrooks led the Wolfpack with 19 points, three blocks, and two steals. The Wolfpack beat the Raiders 72-49.
