10/19/2018 basketball Edit

DJ Funderburk's journey leads him to NC State

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

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NC State redshirt sophomore post player DJ Funderburk is looking forward to the season opener Nov. 6 against Mount St. Mary's. (Ken Martin/TheWolfpacker.com)

It’s a small step in the big picture, but just being out on the court on the big stage will be good for NC State redshirt sophomore post player DJ Funderburk at Primetime With The Pack tonight.

The former Ohio State player — he redshirted under then coach Thad Matta in 2016-2017 — spent last year at Niceville (Fla.) Northwest Florida State College, where he averaged 11.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. he shot 51.1 percent from the field and even made 19 three-pointers. His path to Northwest Florida State College, ultimately led him to signing with NC State.

The 6-foot-10, 210-pound Funderburk was a touted recruit at Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward High and verbally committed to Ohio State. He then spent his senior year at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy, where he played under then coach A.W. Hamilton, and current NC State sophomore guard Braxton Beverly. Hamilton was hired last year as the Wolfpack’s assistant coach and proved integral in landing both Funderburk and Beverly, and was named the head coach at Eastern Kentucky following the season.

“It’s exciting to me because it’s my first year playing Division I college basketball,” Funderburk said. “I’m obviously up for the challenge. Coach [Kevin] Keatts is a great guy and his coaching skills are kind of like Hargrave, so I’m kind of used to it already being under A.W. I’m ready to go.”

Funderburk has been friends with NCSU point guard Markell Johnson for years, and looks forward to be reunited with Beverly.

“It goes to testify that they’ve been in the gym, just like I have,” said Funderburk on how Johnson and Beverly have improved over the years. “Markell and I have been playing together since the seventh grade or eighth grade. Just seeing his game and how he has evolved, it’s crazy.”

Funderburk will get to show his skills in the one and only exhibition game against Chowan at 7 p.m. Oct. 29. NC State will scrimmage East Carolina rather than play a second exhibition contest. He is looking forward to ending his two year wait and play his first Division I basketball game against Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 6.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Funderburk said. “I’m just ready to go, but it has been a tough road.”

NC State lost sophomore center Omer Yurtseven prematurely to Georgetown last spring, and Funderbuk will be in contention to try and fill some of that void, along with Samford graduate transfer Wyatt Walker and freshman Ian Steere.

“Having the ability to play inside and outside and run up and down the court, and play defense as well as I can, that’s going to be a major asset to the team,” Funderburk said. “I know that 90 percent of the time when Wyatt gets it down there it’s a bucket. Ian is a strong freshman and very athletic.”

Funderburk is one of eight healthy, eligible newcomers at NC State this season, but he believes the team is starting to mesh already.

“The chemistry is there,” Funderburk said. “We all kind of clicked within the first two weeks of being around each other. I like this team because I know everybody on the outside is thinking ‘It’s a whole bunch of transfers. They aren’t going to be ready and it will be a rebuilding year.’ That isn’t the case.”

Niceville, Fla., is east of Pensacola on the panhandle. To understand the person Funderburk is now, is to know what the last year was like.

“It was a whole lot of Fortnite and being in the gym thinking about your next move,” Funderburk said. “That’s really a stepping stone, but it was a great place to be at the time.”

The one-year stint at Ohio State didn’t go the way he wanted, but it proved to be a learning experience, and he knows what big-time college basketball is like and won’t be phased by playing on the road.

“Being a freshman and listening to the guys, some of whom are in the league [NBA] now, the older players, I can give that experience now to the younger players to help this team out,” Funderburk said. “I know how to handle certain situations.”

Funderburk has gained around five pounds since his high school days, where Rivals.com ranked him No. 77 overall in the class of 2016. He said his slender frame can be misleading.