Sudden star shining: DJ Burns Jr., Cinderella NC State flavor crescendo of NCAA Final Fours | Opinion

It was so truly great to meet you, DJ Burns Jr. Please don’t go!

Love,

America

Our infatuation with Caitlin Clark, the biggest thing in Iowa since corn, has grown through the years to the point she has undeniably been the face of March-into-April Madness in 2024.

Then Sunday night happened, and we met the heartbeat of The Last Cinderella Standing in the big kid from No. 11 seed North Carolina State who we delighted to watch inflict third-degree Burns on No. 4 Duke.

There always is something soul-nourishing to see Duke fans sad, but this was extra special coming from a long-downtrodden Atlantic Coast Conference rival and seeing the upset instigated by Burns, the 6-9, 275-pound (at least) senior who was buried in anonymity for three seasons at Winthrop before transferring and leading NC State to its first conference title since 1987.

And now: the Final Four — NC State’s first since ‘83.

Burns is gigantic, a refrigerator with limbs, but with unexpected speed, deft moves and, best of all perhaps, an engaging, palpable joy on the court on that is as big as his frame.

He arrived like the gift you don’t expect.

With the Wolfpack’s 76-64 ouster of Duke pretty much in hand with 1:47 left and time called, a much smaller reserve teammate of Burns rose to chest-bump him and nearly got knocked into the fourth row by Burns’ adrenaline.

The sudden star of the night posed and smiled during the timeout as fans took photos.

He would bop in rhythm to songs played inside the arena, and why not. Burns happens to be a multi-instrumentalist who plays the piano, standup bass, saxophone and tuba.

Who knew! The things you don’t know about a man until he comes out of nowhere to become a star on a national stage, takes Cinderella by the hand and leads her, past midnight, toward the big dance.

NBA star Nikola Jokic was so enchanted watching Burns late Sunday that he was late for a postgame news conference. Excused tardiness, I would call it.

The delightful emergence of Burns, who scored 29 points Sunday, enlivens a newly minted men’s Final Four that is legit and excellent: Big East vs. SEC and BIg Ten vs. ACC.

And the women’s Final Four to be set tonight might be just as interesting and great. If not more so.

Its a fine time to be a college hoops fan or a sports fan at large as we await the women’s Final Four this coming Friday in Cleveland, and the men’s FF a day later just outside Phoenix in Glendale.

Chances are by now that your alma mater or chosen team is out.

Chances are by now that you are drowning in the office pool as the ashes of your bracket smolder.

There is still great cause to revel in anticipation during the coming week.

First the men, whose surviving foursome is set:

Dan Hurley’s No. 1 seed UConn men swatted No. 3 Illinois from the season 77-52 and seems close to unbeatable — the reigning national champion and favored to repeat. Only seven times has that happened, and not since Florida in 2006-07. UConn has led by at least 30 points in every tournament game so far. Unstoppable?

The mighty Huskies will face the football school that apparently can dribble , too: No. 4 Alabama by ousting No. 6 Clemson reaches its first ever Final Four — a long shot eventuality from a team that didn’t get past the quarterfinals in its SEC tourney.

On the other side of the bracket No. 1 Purdue continues living up to its seed in eliminating No. 2 Tennessee behind Zach Edey’s 40 points. Purdue is in its first Final Four wince 1980 but is nobody’s interloper or underdog.

The Boilermakers — kids, it was an occupation before it was a whiskey ‘n beer drink — will now face literal underdog NCState, and Burns vs. Edey should be a scrumptious battle of the bigs.

On to the women, whose Final Four is half set:

No. 1 South Carolina and No. 3 North Carolina State both got in by winning Sunday and will face each other in one semifinal, the top seed the big favorite and a power that won national titles in 2017 and ‘22.

The other two Final Four tickets will be won Monday night as No. 1 Iowa faces No. 3 LSU in a rematch of last season’s championship game won by the Tigers, and No. 1 USC meets No. 3 UConn.

North Carolina State and perhaps UConn will have both teams in the Final Four. The same school has won both national titles the same year only twice, in 2004 and ‘14. It was UConn both times.

That pedigree may be why UConn is a small favorite tonight though USC is top seeded.

But it’s tonight’s other Elite Eight game that rivets attention as Caitlin Clark, in her last shot at a national championship, faces the same team that took the trophy from her a year ago.

America’s darling Caitlin Clark vs. dastardly LSU coach Kim Mulkey is about as fine-tuned a Good vs. Evil setup and you will find in sports. Clark is our national sweetheart at least by media nomination and the Girl Next Door (albeit in an all-white neighborhood). Mulkey, whose courtside outfits are louder than the crowd, is America’s most unlikable coach by acclimation.

You could buy an aftermarket UConn-USC ticket to Monday night’s game for as low as $8. Clark vs. Mulkey is why the lowest ticket to the near-tossup Iowa-LSU game was going for $118.

No matter the result, we either get to keep cheering for Clark or rooting against Mulkey. So it’s win-win, America!