'Sky's The Limit' For Rapidly Blossoming Funderburk
Earlier this season, NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts said that he envisioned redshirt freshman Manny Bates as a taller, athletic version of Devontae Cacock -- the centerpiece of his two straight NCAA tournament teams at UNC Wilmington.
“We had a lot of success with Devontae at UNCW, but he was 6-6," Keatts said of Cacock, who led the nation in field goal percentage as a sophomore and rebounds as a junior before becoming a teammate of LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bates, at 6-foot-11, might eventually develop into a similiarly dominant force on both ends of the court once his offensive game begins to catch up with his already elite shot blocking skills.
But until that happens, the Wolfpack already has a reasonable facscimile of Cacock in D.J. Funderburk.
The 6-10 junior is averaging 17.8 points and eight rebounds over his last five games and is rapidly becoming one of the most productive big men in the ACC.
"I’m just trying to do the right things, just talking to my guys and thanking them for getting me the ball all the time," Funderburk said. "I’m just trying to stay focused on and off the court. When I do that, the sky’s the limit really."
Funderburk has always had star potential as a four-star prospect who started his career at Ohio State before transferring to a junior college in Florida, then to State.
But it's only been recently that he's begun to consistently live up to that promise.
His breakthrough began on Dec. 29 against Appalachian State, when he went 10 of 14 from the floor while finishing with a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds. Two games later against Notre Dame, he sparked a second half comeback that erased an 11-point deficit and promoted Keatts say that he "made a difference and was a huge difference."
It was more of the same on Wednesday, when he posted team-leading totals of 19 points and nine rebounds in an 80-63 rout of Miami.
Although he still has to improve a ratio that has seen him commit 21 turnovers compared to just six assists, he ranks second on the team for the season in both scoring (13.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg) while leading the Wolfpack with a .623 shooting percentage.
"I like the way D.J. is trending," Keatts said the day before the Miami game. "He's certainly helping our team in a lot of positive ways."
According to the Wolfpack coach, it took Funderburk most of the nonconference schedule to make up for lost time following a suspension that forced him to miss all of preseason camp and his team's opening game against Georgia Tech.
"I used to tell the assistant coaches all the time, 'Man he's just not in great shape,' Keatts said. "I think he’s been getting in the gym, putting some extra reps in and getting in better shape.
"Early in the season I didn't think he could play full stretches. He obviously didn’t play in the Georgia Tech game, but he missed a lot of time because he was suspended and I didn’t let him be around the program. I think that hurt his condition a little bit. I think it's now that he can play long stretches, and he's starting to get into better shape and he's starting to play with confidence."
While conditioning is certainly a factor in Funderburk's improved play, it's not the only reason he's begun -- in the words of Keatts -- "playing to his potential."
Just as significant has been the extended playing time the Ohio native has been getting at his natural power forward (or four) position during the time in which teammate C.J. Bryce was sidelined with a concussion.
Funderburk and Bates started the season platooning at center. But when Bryce's absence left the Wolfpack's backcourt shorthanded, Keatts began utilizing a bigger lineup with both on the court at the same time.
The change has allowed Funderburk to play more facing the basket while giving him the space to better use his athleticism both as a scorer and an offensive rebounder. After recording 20 offensive rebounds in his first 11 games, he's pulled down 16 over the past four.
"He's been a dog down there," point guard and fellow Ohio native markell Johnson said. "He's been hard to guard. When we play inside-out, it gives us a whole different look on the court."
Because the big lineup has been so succesful, Keatts indicated that he'll continue to use it -- depending on the matchups -- now that Bryce is back.
As much as Funderburk is enjoying playing the four, he said he's willing to do whatever he's asked to help the Wolfpack build on the momentum gained during a strong second half against Miami on Wednesday.
"Everybody was happy for each other. Nobody made any selfish plays," he said. "I was just having fun, really. That’s the main key, just having fun. When we got to doing that in the second half, it was kind of deadly for us."
