Lesson Learned, Funderburk Ready to Make Most of Second Chance
When all was said and done, D.J. Funderburk's suspension from the NC State basketball team consisted of three games -- two that counted, one that didn't -- and the most valuable lesson a young person can learn.
That sometimes you don't realize how much you love something until it gets taken away from you.
"I appreciate the game a lot more," Funderburk said Wednesday night following his return to action at PNC Arena. He finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots in the Wolfpack's 86-77 win against Florida International.
"It's a privilege to be out there. It's a privilege to be in the ACC,"he said. "It's a privilege to be on this big stage with my guys. I'm just happy I'm out there with my family."
The 6-foot-10 redshirt junior has been out of action since Sept. 30 after being suspended indefinitely for what coach Kevin Keatts termed a violation of team rules.
It's been reported by multiple outlets that Funderburk was disciplined for damaging the boots that were placed on his car by State's parking service for excessive tickets. It was a behavior he described as "childish," adding that he's "better" for the experience of being away from the team.
Coming to that realization was one of the prerequisites set by coach Kevin Keatts for Funderburk's return.
"My initial conversation with him was 'If you want to be part of this program, here's what you've got to do,'" Keatts said. "I haven't talked to him about it anymore, but I've checked with every coach or acadenmic person or anybody on campus that I could talk to to make sure he's done everything he's supposed to do. Everbody checked the boxes off and I was happy."
Although Funderburk said he came to the arena expecting to play Wednesday, Keatts said he didn't actually decide to put his veteran big man into the game until just before tipoff.
Funderburk entered the game for the first time at the 16:27 mark of the first half, relieving starter Manny Bates at the center position. He scored his first points just over a minute later by tipping in a miss by teammate Markell Johnson to help State recover from a slow start that saw it fall behind by as many as 10 points..
Though Funderburk had his moments in his debut performance, he also showed signs of rust by missing three of his first four free throws -- including two straight late in the half that allowed FIU to tie the game at 37 after 20 minutes -- before finally getting more comfortable in the second half.
"It was a little adjustment. First game jitters and everything," Funderburk said. "It took me a little while. Probably by the second half it kicked in, a little more effort, a little more energy. I can definitely get going."
His biggest basket of the night came with just under two minutes remaining. With the shot clock running out and teammate Braxton Beverly dribbling into trouble, Funderburk took a pass on the right baseline and calmly sank a clutch 12-foot jumper to extend the Wolfpack’s lead to 80-72 and help hold off the pesky Panthers.
"It was just clutch because of the time and the momentum they had," Funderburk said. "They were coming back and were down six. That shot kind of changed the momentum of the game."
While Funderburk made significant contributions on both ends of the court, by far his greatest impact came on the glass.
An area in which the Wolfpack had struggled during its first two games, getting outrebounded by Detroit Mercy on Sunday after giving up the winning points to Georgia Tech on a second chance opportunity in its opener, Funderburk’s presence helped State finish the game with a 38-31 rebounding edge -- including an 18-6 edge on the offensive glass.
"It helps," Keatts said. "D.J. is a good player and that's one of his strong suits. He's a really good rebounder."
Funderburk, who started his college career at Ohio State, averaged 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game with 38 blocked shots while shooting 55.2 percent from the floor in his first season with the Wolfpack last season.
