Checking In on Members of NC State’s 2024 Final Four Team
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It's been almost two years since the 11-seeded North Carolina State Wolfpack men's basketball team made its latest Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament, winning the South Region with a convincing victory over Duke at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
It was the second time the program had made a deep, improbable run in March, joining the 1983 national championship team. Many of the key players from the 2023-24 team have moved on from the Wolfpack. Here's an update on what a few of them are up to these days.
DJ Burns Jr.
Let's start with the star of that NC State run: big man DJ Burns. Burns took over the postseason and won over fans nationwide with his play, carrying an ACC Tournament MVP performance to Most Outstanding Player (MOP) honors in the South Regional, where he lit up Duke for 29 points.
Burns averaged 12.9 points and four rebounds that season, his final as a collegiate player. He signed with the local G-League team, the Greensboro Swarm, earlier this season, but was let go after a few days. He's now a member of Bnei Herzliya in Israel.
DJ Horne
Horne was the leading scorer for the 2023-24 Wolfpack team after transferring from Arizona State. The guard was a good shooter and had several elite scoring performances throughout ACC play in his only year at NC State, including a 29-point outburst against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinal.
After spending some time in the NBA Summer League with the San Antonio Spurs, he signed with Heidelberg in Germany, averaging 15 points during his rookie season. He's averaging 14.8 points through the first 10 games of his second season, and just put up 20 points, six assists, and a rebound in a narrow Heidelberg victory.
Jayden Taylor
Taylor spent two years at Butler and two at NC State as a college player, finishing his career as part of last year's Wolfpack team. He was a good scorer, averaging over 10 points per game for his career and often serving as one of the team's strongest three-point threats and defensive stalwarts. This season, Tyalor has played 15 games for two teams in Europe, averaging more than 21 points per game and shooting better than 50% from the field.
Casey Morsell
The Virginia transfer had his two most productive college basketball seasons at NC State, becoming a more complete player. He had a knack for doing the little things and being a good defender but also averaged more than 11 points in each year with the Wolfpack.
Morsell is the one player on this list who isn't playing pro basketball anywhere. Instead, he's an analyst for the ACC Network, and he runs his own basketball clinics under the moniker, "Casey Morsell Skills Academy."
Mohamed Diarra
Diarra was another transfer who joined NC State for that magical season, leaving Missouri for the ACC. While not a big scorer, he excelled as a rebounder and a shot blocker. The forward once had a temporary contract with the Lakers but is now back home in France, playing for Cholet Basket. It's his second season in the French league and the second franchise for which he has played.
Ben Middlebrooks
Middlebrooks was a junior on the Final Four team and returned for his final collegiate season last year. He was another shot-blocker and rebounder, leading the team in each category during most of his career. He currently plays for the Norrkoping Dolphins in Sweden and scored a career-high 32 points in a November game.
Michael O'Connell
O'Connell was a two-year starter at NC State after transferring from Stanford. He was known as a great three-point shooter, and despite not being an overwhelming scorer, he came through with some clutch performances in the 2024 ACC Tournament and in the South Regional Final against Duke.
After returning to Raleigh for the 2024-25 season, O'Connell is playing for Criollos de Caguas in Puerto Rico, which also features Michigan State alum Travis Trice, Oregon alum Louis King, and former NBA prospect Mo Harkless.
Dennis Parker Jr.
Parker Jr., a junior guard at Radford University, is the only player in this article who still plays college basketball. He was a freshman on the NC State Final Four team and spent two years with the program in Raleigh, averaging just under 14 minutes per game during that span. He was a somewhat significant part of the rotation as a freshman but never took on a big role in 56 games.
After transferring to Radford in the offseason, Parker Jr. has become a feature player, starting all 19 games this season and averaging 19.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in almost 29 minutes. The Highlanders are 10-9 and in third place in the Big South Conference.
Head Coach Kevin Keatts
The 2023-24 season was huge for Keatts, who looked to establish himself as an elite ACC basketball coach. However, as any NC State fan knows, the team performed poorly last season, leading to his dismissal. He's now an analyst for ESPN.
Travis Tyler joined On SI as a writer in January 2026. He has experience contributing to FanSided’s NFL, college football, and college basketball coverage, in addition to freelance work throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth area, including high school, college, and professional sports for the Dallas Express and contributions to the College Football Dawgs, Last Word on Sports/Hockey, and The Dallas Morning News. In addition to his writing, Travis contributes video and podcasting content to Fanatics View and regularly appears as a guest analyst. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and SMU and is an avid Detroit sports fan with a deep knowledge and appreciation of sports history. Follow Travis Tyler on Twitter at @TTyler_Sports.