If it was up to him, graduate guard DJ Horne would’ve been donning a Wolfpack uniform his entire college career. Instead, the zero-star prospect from Raleigh, North Carolina had to take a detour that included two seasons at Illinois State and another two years at Arizona State before ending up where he always belonged.
With former guards Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner leaving NC State for the NBA after the 2022-23 season, head coach Kevin Keatts went to the transfer portal to find a replacement that could get buckets like the two in last season’s backcourt. So he got Horne, who had recently put his name on the map with a 20-point performance in the First Four of the NCAA tournament and followed it up with a 17-point performance in the first round, including a game-tying three in the final seconds.
Horne’s ability to make clutch shots and shoot from long distance was something the Pack needed to add after the departures of Smith and Joiner. Horne has lived up to high expectations and currently leads the Wolfpack in scoring and 3-pointers made. He’s also fifth in the ACC in 3-point percentage with an elite 42.9% from beyond the arc.
These numbers may be somewhat of a surprise based on how Horne started the season — in his first game wearing the red and white, Horne scored just six points on 2-12 shooting while making just one of his seven 3-point attempts. However, the graduate shrugged off this performance and scored 15 and 18 points the next two games while shooting over 50% in both contests.
For the next stretch of games, Horne struggled to find consistency, but struggles are to be expected from a player who just joined the program and is trying to mesh with new teammates.
About a month into the season, things started to really click for the transfer. Against UT Martin, Horne scored 22 points, including six 3-pointers on just 10 attempts. Over the next three games, Horne scored 16 points or more — including two 20-point games — and knocked down four or more 3’s all on above a 50% clip.
This stretch established Horne as the Wolfpack’s go-to scorer and its most reliable shooter. Whenever the Pack goes flat on offense, it looks to Horne to go get a tough bucket.
While Horne has established himself as the Wolfpack’s best scorer and shooter, his ability to run the offense should not go unnoticed. Horne has recorded three or more assists in over half of the games he’s played despite his role as a lead scorer.
His playmaking ability was especially crucial in a key overtime win against Boston College, NC State’s first conference win of the season. After leading for the majority of the game, the Wolfpack allowed the Eagles to claw back and eventually force overtime. Since Horne was the leading scorer for the Pack in this game, most of the defensive attention was on him in the extra session.
Rather than forcing contested shots, Horne made extra passes in overtime and assisted on all three 3-pointers NC State made in the extra period. Horne ended the game with five assists and his unselfishness in overtime propelled the Pack to a crucial conference win on the road.
Most guys with Horne’s ability to score aren’t passing up on shots, especially if it’s in overtime, but that’s what makes this Raleigh native different. He continues to put the team first and only cares about getting the team a win at this stage in his career. Despite this being his first year with the Pack, Horne has already emerged as one of the team’s leaders.
It took a long journey for Horne to get to Raleigh, but he wasted no time establishing himself as one of the best players for his hometown team. He will be a critical piece for the Pack as it looks to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
