It didn’t take the NC State Wolfpack long to move on following Will Wade’s departure to LSU, as the university was quick on the jump, hiring former player Justin Gainey a week later as the 22nd head coach in its men’s basketball program history.
“Coach Gainey is a veteran coach with 20 years of experience at the highest level,” said NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan. “Since his time as a player, he’s coached with some of the great coaches and he’s gained a wealth of experience. He’s been a part of big games, he knows what it takes to win at the highest level and he’s recruited at the highest level.”
Gainey, 49, played four years at NC State from 1996-2000 and also served on Sidney Lowe’s staff from 2006-2009.
“This is surreal,” Gainey said. “It’s a surreal moment for me. It’s like a dream come true that still hasn’t fully set in. I’m just so excited to be here, to be in front of you. It’s home. I’m excited to be back home.”
As Corrigan put it, Gainey’s “blood is in the bricks” at NC State.
In fact, Gainey was literally on the floor for the team’s first ever game at the then Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena, and actually scored the final basket in that game, a 67-63 win over Georgia.
“This is a special place with a proud tradition,” Gainey said. “I don’t take any of this lightly. I don’t take any of these responsibilities lightly. I know what comes with it. I was born here in North Carolina, played here at NC State. I understand what being on Tobacco Road is all about.”
In Gainey, NC State is hoping to not only bring in an up and coming figure in the college basketball world, but also one who will be loyal and committed to the program, something that was certainly lacking in the last hire.
“You gotta have a certain type of toughness to be here and if you look at my career, my path, I was never the tallest guy, never the fastest, I wouldn’t say I always shot the ball the best, but the one thing that I prided myself on was toughness and I tried to bring that everyday,” Gainey said. “And as long as I’m head coach, you can count on that every single day. I’m gonna bring that toughness and all my teams, my staff and everybody that’s in contact with us, will have that toughness.”
This will be the first college head coaching gig for the former point guard, although he’s served under a couple of big name coaches and programs.
Gainey has been on the staffs of Herb Sendek, Sean Miller and Rick Barnes and has worked at Santa Clara, Arizona, Marquette and Tennessee.
The High Point native also started out his coaching career as an assistant at both Elon and Appalachian State as well, so he’s been quite prevalent in the local scene.
He’s been well prepared for this opportunity and now only time will tell how ready he actually is.
In terms of roster construction, Gainey and Corrigan were pretty clear on the kind of team they’re wanting to build, as the main theme both mentioned throughout the introductory presser was toughness and compete.
“Coach Gainey’s teams will be built on the basics,” Corrigan said. “We’ll score the ball, we’ll defend at a high level, we will rebound, we will dive for loose balls, we will get steals, we will show toughness every step of the way, because that is who NC State is.”
“At the end of the day, we’re in this to win big and to win championships and the only way that happens is by competing at the highest level in everything we do,” Gainey said. “We’re gonna compete in the classroom, we’re gonna compete in study hall, we’re gonna compete in practice and we’re gonna compete in the games. Everything is gonna be competitive.”
Even though recruitment and retention in the world of college sports has changed drastically with the rise of NIL and the transfer portal, Gainey stated that he feels confident in his ability to put together a team that embodies those characteristics, while also being one that is capable of winning.
Gainey’s deal is a five-year, $14 million contract, a bit less than Wade’s six-year, $17 million deal that was signed last year.
The contract also comes with a $5 million buyout before April 1, 2027, however, that total decreases by $1 million every year through 2030.
