PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WTKR) — Since the calendar turned to March, NC State's DJ Horne has been on a frenzied basketball tour.
The Wolfpack guard has gone from Raleigh to Washington D.C. for the ACC Tournament. He then played in the NCAA Tournament in both Pittsburgh and Dallas before reaching Phoenix for the Final Four.
Now the senior is finishing up in Hampton Roads for the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
"Very hectic, very on the go," Horne said. "I'm grateful for everything that's been thrown my way. I'd rather be doing all of that than sitting at home."
Horne comes to the PIT after a run with NC State he called "magical." With a regular season record of 17-14 and on a four-game losing streak, the Wolfpack surged in the postseason. The team won five games in a row, including an overtime stunner over Virginia, en route to an ACC Tournament championship.
Earning an 11-seed in the NCAA Tournament, the madness was only just beginning. Horne and company would continue the run with four victories in a row to make the 2024 Final Four in Phoenix.
"To see our season a whole 360 degree turn like that was crazy," Horne remembered. "I'm appreciative to be a part of that run and to bring back something like that for my hometown, it means everything."
The shine of his March run has yet to subside. Fans were still taking pictures with Horne and asking for the guard's autograph while he was in the middle of layup lines while playing for Portsmouth Partnership.
While all of the attention is still humbling for him, the Raleigh native remains focused on his goal at hand. Playing in front of numerous pro scouts, Horne aiming to show his play during the postseason was exactly what can be expected of him going forward.
"I feel like a lot of people, especially smaller guards, get doubted a lot," he said. "I feel like I can score with the best of them and I can play with the best of them."
He averaged 16.9 points per game in his final college season. After so much time on the road over the last 50 days, Horne isn't trying to slow down.
"Honestly, I think it's helped me to stay focused and not taking too much time off from the game," he said. "As a player, especially in my position, this is the next step that I want to get in."
Horne helped get his team the title game of the PIT, ultimately falling 75-68 to Jani-King on Saturday night at Churchland High School.
Still, the guard made the event's All-Tournament team. His pro prospects likely won't let him rest much after the PIT, something he's more than OK with.
"This is something I've worked for my whole life," Horne said. "There will be time that all this really starts to slowly settle in but I'm just ready to take this and keep progressing."
