Tennessee Basketball Coach Candidate Justin Gainey Emerges in NC State Search After Will Wade Exit
tennessee basketball coach Justin Gainey is being discussed as NC State’s coaching search intensifies after Will Wade’s exit, a move that sent shockwaves through the college basketball world. The situation unfolded Thursday (ET), leaving the Wolfpack in the unusual position of needing to hire coaches in back-to-back years. The urgency is magnified with commitments already in place for next season and the transfer portal set to open April 7 (ET).
Search jolts NC State into a second straight hiring cycle
NC State’s predicament is not just about replacing a head coach; it is about doing it quickly enough to stabilize a roster that was built with significant movement from other schools. As of Thursday (ET), 4-star wing Cole Cloer, a Hillsborough native, and 4-star center Trevon Carter-Givens are committed to play for the Wolfpack next season.
The transfer portal opens April 7 (ET), and the program’s outlook has been described as cloudy as the next coach could face another full-scale rebuild depending on who follows Wade to LSU. This season’s roster included players who came from other schools, including Darrion Williams, Quadir Copeland, Tre Holloman, Ven-Allen Lubin, and Terrance Arceneaux, underscoring how sensitive the program is to coaching turnover.
Tennessee Basketball Coach discussion centers on Justin Gainey and the assistant-coach gamble
In the candidate conversation, tennessee basketball coach Justin Gainey stands out because of his current role and his ties to the program. Gainey is a former NC State point guard and now an associate head coach at Tennessee, where he has been a defensive specialist and was promoted to associate head coach in 2022. Tennessee has reached the Sweet 16 three seasons in a row.
Gainey has no head coaching experience, a fact that is central to the debate around whether NC State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan would consider an assistant coach for the top job. Corrigan stated in a press conference (ET) that the candidate did not have to be a head coach, opening the door to names like Gainey even as some observers frame the move as a higher-risk hire compared with experienced head coaches.
Gainey’s resume also includes stops on coaching staffs at Marquette, Arizona, Santa Clara, Appalachian State, and Elon. His hometown is High Point, and he played at Greensboro Day School.
Other candidates mentioned as timeline pressure builds
Another name in circulation is Josh Schertz, whose profile has grown after building one of the country’s best Division II teams and later gaining more notoriety at Saint Louis and Indiana State. Schertz has coaching ties to North Carolina, and the appeal of a jump from the Atlantic 10 to the ACC has been noted. On Tuesday (ET), Schertz said, “I think I’ve shown I’m very happy where I am. ”
Archie Miller is also part of the discussion. He is currently the head coach at Rhode Island, where the Rams have a 55-71 record and have not finished higher than 10th in the Atlantic 10 during his time there. Miller played point guard at NC State from 1998 to 2002 and was an assistant at NC State from 2004 to 2006. His most successful head-coaching stint was at Dayton, where he won two Atlantic 10 regular-season championships and was named conference coach of the year in 2017. His later tenure at Indiana ended in 2021 after the Hoosiers went 67-56 in four seasons and did not reach the NCAA Tournament.
Another coach’s “stock is high” after leading the Panthers to an upset win against Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, adding another data point as NC State weighs options in real time (ET).
What’s next: roster decisions, portal clock, and a fast-moving search
The coming days (ET) will test how quickly NC State can move from candidate evaluation to a hire that can keep commitments intact and prevent further roster instability before April 7 (ET). With Corrigan publicly leaving the door open to non-head coaches, the possibility remains that tennessee basketball coach Justin Gainey could become a focal point if the search shifts toward assistants or if other targets prove difficult to land. For the Wolfpack, the next development is simple and immediate: name a coach who can recruit, retain, and rebuild—fast.
