What Justin Gainey's NC State Staff Looks Like So Far

RALEIGH — As soon as Justin Gainey was officially named the head coach for NC State men's basketball, speculation began over who the new leader of the program would bring in for his staff. Given his lack of experience as a head coach, many believed his staff additions would play a crucial role in his early success leading the Wolfpack. So far, things are going well for Gainey.

While none of the hires have been officially confirmed by the school as of Thursday, Gainey brought in four assistants for his staff over the last week, each with a different background. There's reason to believe that the new staff members will contribute to recruiting, offensive philosophy, player development and general game knowledge. Who will handle what?

Recruiting: Alvin Brooks III

Gainey reportedly added longtime assistant Alvin Brooks III to the staff on Thursday, adding one of several SEC voices with extensive experience in the Big 12 as well. Brooks built a reputation as a strong recruiter across multiple stops, including Baylor and, most recently, Kentucky with Mark Pope.

While he brings a strong recruiting reputation to the Wolfpack himself, Gainey holds more responsibility as the head coach than he did at Tennessee as the associate head coach and assistant to Rick Barnes. Brooks should lighten the load in the recruiting process for him, while also bringing extensive connections on top of Gainey's already impressive network.

Player Development: Riley Collins

Riley Collins was the first confirmed member of Gainey's staff, as he sat in the front row of the new coach's introductory press conference. The pair worked together at Tennessee, where Collins served as the assistant director of player development for four seasons.

He is set to take on a larger role as a full-time assistant coach with the Wolfpack, but the expectation is that he'll handle the brunt of the player development process. His youth offers Gainey a nice bridge to the players as well.

Offensive Coordinator: Anthony Goins

Most of Gainey's success at Tennessee came on the defensive side of things, which the Wolfpack's first teams will be heavily predicated on. Still, NC State needs to score the basketball and bringing Anthony Goins in from Georgia will go a long way in helping the offense flourish.

Jeff Goodman reported that Goins will serve as the program's offensive coordinator, bringing some of the high-octane offensive principles he used with the Bulldogs to Raleigh. He may also assist in luring some SEC talent to Raleigh in the transfer portal.

Veteran Voice/Game Philosophy: Matthew Driscoll

Lacking experience as a head coach, Gainey needed a voice of a former head coach on his staff to help him learn some of the intricacies of the leading job. Enter Matthew Driscoll, a head coach at North Florida for 16 seasons before taking the associate and interim head coach positions at Kansas State during the 2025-26 campaign.

Driscoll is known as an offense-focused coach, so he will likely play a large hand in that aspect of preparation and practice, but he looks more poised to be the right-hand man for Gainey to lean on when he needs an experienced voice. It's a critical hire for a coach trying to learn on the fly.