RALEIGH, N.C. -- Justin Gainey is set to become the next NC State men's basketball head coach, marking the 22nd leader of the Wolfpack in program history. NC State Athletics Director Boo Corrigan wasted no time making the move following the abrupt departure of Will Wade and it paid off with one of the most respected assistants in the country coming to Raleigh.
So how did it all come together?
We're not going to rehash anything before last Tuesday because, quite frankly, it's old news at this point. Getting an injection of new life from Gainey is exactly what the Wolfpack needed after losing a disloyal coach that ran at the first sign of adversity in Raleigh.
After multiple meetings between Corrigan and Wade on March 24 and March 25 in which Wade continued to reiterate he would return, Wade no-showed a meeting on Wednesday and did not contact Corrigan after that. The next phase began immediately once Corrigan received an email from Jimmy Sexton, Wade's agent, about his resignation.
That prompted Corrigan to mention the standards he was looking for in his next head coach at a press conference on Thursday afternoon before Wade boarded a flight to Baton Rouge.
"We are committed to finding the next coach for our men's basketball program -- someone who wants to be at NC State," Corrigan said. "Understands who we are, understands that we're a tough school, understands that we're a great academic institution, and understands that our fan base has very high expectations and can embrace that."
Mission accomplished. Not only did Corrigan bring in one of the best recruiting assistants in the country and a molder of elite defensive players, it's bringing home one of its own.
But how did the Wolfpack get there? On Friday, March 27, Corrigan spoke to numerous candidates by phone and set up Zoom meetings with both Josh Schertz and Gainey, along with other communications with candidates. In fact, one possible wild card target that wasn't discussed publicly was Akron's John Groce, who the Wolfpack cut from the list before he took the job in Charleston.
The next day, Corrigan and Wolfpack officials including major booster Brian McMurray and Wolfpack Club Executive Director Ben Broussard departed on a 14-hour trip to interview candidates. The group traveled nearly 1,700 miles to sit down for face-to-face interviews with top targets in Schertz and Gainey, along with a meeting in Greenville, S.C. with Bob Richey of Furman.
According to sources, Schertz was offered a deal well north of his current contract with Saint Louis -- both from a contractual and NIL standpoint -- and he had 48 hours to consider his options. He came back to Corrigan and removed himself from the search to remain with the Billikens and likely keep his options open for this offseason and beyond in the event that positions like Arizona, Michigan or Kansas eventually open up.
Once that took place, it was full steam ahead for Gainey.
Following Tennessee's 95-62 loss to No. 1 Michigan in the Elite Eight -- the Vols' third consecutive Elite Eight -- Gainey was free to take the Wolfpack position. Richey removed his name from the coaching search -- though he was not a serious option -- and Gainey spoke to Corrigan about an offer on Sunday night before accepting the position on Monday morning.
Less than five days after receiving Wade's resignation and agreeing to a reduced buyout of $4 million to get rid of him, Corrigan and NC State have a new head coach in place. The fact that he's a former player, an alum and still bleeds red and white only makes the move that much more inspiring after dealing with the circus of Wade for the last several months.
Now it's time for Gainey to come in hit the ground running with his first staff, a roster that he can assemble from a boosted NIL budget and the support of former players and alums all over the country. The Red Reckoning that never happened can now be turned into a Red Revival -- I'm not saying that phrase should actually be used, but you get the point -- for a program that Gainey takes so much pride in.
Let the healing begin this week with one of the Wolfpack's own steering the ship.
