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3 Current NC State Players Attend Justin Gainey's Introduction

As the Wolfpack begins a new era under Justin Gainey, it will try to keep some momentum with these three players.
Tucker Sennett|
Jan 17, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack ball during the second half of the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images
Jan 17, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack ball during the second half of the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

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North Carolina State Wolfpack

RALEIGH — In a room full of former players and alumni, Cole Cloer, Zymicah Wilkins and Jayme Kontuniemi represented the only bridge to NC State's 2025-26 roster at Justin Gainey's introductory press conference. The new head coach made a triumphant return to the Wolfpack on Wednesday, coming home after playing at NC State from 1996 to 2000.

Whether Wilkins, Cloer and Kontuniemi are retained or not by the new regime under Gainey remains to be seen, as there are still a few days before the opening of the transfer portal on April 7. All three players would have different reasons for staying in Raleigh, but continuity is hard to come by in the current college basketball landscape. That's why Gainey made an appeal to them, as well as others not in attendance.

Gainey's message to the roster

Both Wilkins and Kontuniemi sat out for the entirety of the season, with Wilkins using his redshirt. Cloer joined the team early after being recruited by previous head coach Will Wade over the summer and fall of 2025, becoming the second four-star commitment for the previous staff. Cloer would be the primary retention target who was in the building, but part of Gainey's message might've been more important to the other two.

"To the current players, this program is going to be built on a couple of things. It's simple," Gainey said, looking right at the trio of players. "We're going to develop. We're going to develop you guys. I don't want you to walk in with any limitations on yourself... We're going to help you reach whatever limits you're trying to reach... We're going to connect with the community. You guys are going to have an unbelievable connection within your group. We're going to connect with the university."

Gainey placed a massive emphasis on building a familial culture within the Wolfpack program moving forward. It was a significant diversion from Wade's more pre-professional setup, something many fans yearned for after the cold exit of the previous head coach. Development and connection weren't the only foundations Gainey wanted to share. The third likely appealed to Cloer more than the others.

"We're going to compete. We're gonna compete every day with toughness, and we're gonna compete together, because at the end of the day, we're in this to win," Gainey said. "We're in this to win. We're in this to win championships and the only way that happens is by competing at the highest level in everything you do."

Boo Corrigan, Justin Gainey
NC State AD Boo Corrigan hugs new men's basketball coach Justin Gainey after the announcement of Gainey becoming the new leader of the program on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

After 20 years in various assistant roles, Gainey is finally getting his first shot as a head coach. However, that might be an advantage for him in the retention process should any of the three players, or another like Paul McNeil, be interested in a potential return. His role put him in a more prominent recruiting role and meant he was more hands-on with his coaching.

"I've learned that in coaching, it's about relationships and it's about just giving," Gainey said. "Serving these young men, because when they know that you care about them, they'll run through a wall for you. If they know it's all transactional... Then, yeah, times get hard and they're going to quit... I never want to be that guy."

The players weren't the only returning pieces from the previous team, as a few members of the support staff also trickled in, most notably assistant general manager Patrick Stacy. Wade and Stacy worked closely during the prior offseason to put the roster together based heavily on Stacy's Jam Basketball Intelligence data. He'll offer Gainey a nice bridge to any players on the fence about leaving.

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Tucker Sennett
TUCKER SENNETT

Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.

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