Two Approaches Gainey Can Take For the Rest of NC State's Roster
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RALEIGH — Since taking over the NC State men's basketball program at the beginning of April, first-year coach Justin Gainey has been busy assembling his first staff, creating a program strategy and identity and putting together his first roster. The team-building process has been a deliberate one, with a nice mixture of transfer additions and returning talent now in place.
As things stand, the Wolfpack has nine players on its roster, with six transfers, two returners and a freshman recruit all set to wear "NC State" across their chests by the time the ball is tipped in November. Still, there are a handful of roster spots left over for the new head coach to fill. Gainey has options for how he approaches the rest of the roster.
Option 1: The Youth Movement
During his introductory press conference, Gainey outlined his plans for recruiting high school talent for his NC State program. Throughout his stops at Marquette, Arizona and, most recently, Tennessee, Gainey established a reputation as a high-level recruiter and talent evaluator, bringing in marquee players for each of those programs as an assistant and associate head coach for the Volunteers. The expectation is for that tendency to continue in Raleigh at his alma mater.
"Everywhere I've been, I've recruited North Carolina and I feel like I've done it at a high level," Gainey said. "I'm ready to take that to another level. I always thought if I were in-state, man, I could really make some noise. I thought I did a pretty good job pulling some talent, but we're going to recruit this state hard and heavy... We want to be dominant in the state of North Carolina."
Gainey's plan went into effect quickly, as NC State added three-star guard Kingston Whitty from Christ School, a North Carolina prep school, as the first high school recruit of his tenure as the leader of the Pack.
That could be a sign of things to come, for Gainey could emphasize adding younger preps to begin building for the future, rather than overspending on more transfers. It's a bold idea, as players move quickly and don't buy in as much to the developmental aspect of programs in the modern era, but Gainey had success with that process in Knoxville.
Option 2: Round It Out With Experience
Between the two returners (Paul McNeil and Zymicah Wilkins) and the six transfer additions, NC State has most of its rotation ready to go and the key pieces of a starting lineup. The fourth starting spot is still up for grabs, depending on the way Gainey wants his first Wolfpack team to play. The group could use some more positional size in the frontcourt, meaning another dip into the transfer portal might be in the cards for this new staff in Raleigh.
Adding another pair of transfers with playing experience would likely raise the ceiling for NC State in the first year of the Gainey era, but handicap the program's long-term development by taking spots away from younger players. It ultimately comes down to priorities for Gainey and his staff, but if winning right away is one of those priorities, this is the best course of action.
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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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