Why Gainey Should Look Closely at Tennessee Connections for NC State
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RALEIGH — As NC State head coach Justin Gainey settles into his new position during transfer portal season, the right move could be to look at where he came from. Gainey spent the last five seasons as an assistant and the associate head coach at Tennessee, where he helped turn the Volunteers into one of the premier programs in the SEC during his tenure.
Now back at his alma mater, Gainey is trying to put together his first roster as a collegiate head coach, a stressful process in the modern era of the sport with the transfer portal firing away. However, the Wolfpack's new head coach could very well make it a more comfortable transition by going back into the well that led him to so much success over the last few seasons: Tennessee.
Volunteers in the portal?
Six different members of Tennessee's 2025-26 roster under head coach Rick Barnes and Gainey as the lead assistant have already entered the transfer portal. The highlights include forward J.P. Estrella and guard Bishop Boswell, two players who were essential cogs in Tennessee's run to the Elite Eight in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Other players like Cade Phillips, Amari Evans and Jaylen Carey are also in the portal already, marking a fairly sizable exodus from Knoxville. While Gainey could want to try to leave Tennessee alone as much as possible as a nod to what the program did for him, there's a lot of talent already in the portal that might be difficult to pass on for a few reasons.
SEC grit in the ACC?
During his introductory press conference, Gainey repeatedly stated that his version of the Wolfpack would be built on toughness and would play a physical brand of basketball to make NC State fans proud. Will Wade's Pack got bullied at times, playing with a lack of positional size that caused major issues against larger teams in the ACC.
With Boswell, Estrella and either Carey or Phillips coming over from Tennessee, there would be a completely renewed element of toughness and physicality. Boswell emerged as one of the best defensive guards in the country under Gainey's tutelage, but also added some more offensive firepower in his two seasons with the Vols. He could be a floor general with an edge, as well as a translator for Gainey.
Duke and Virginia, the ACC finalists for the 2025-26 season, played with size and physicality throughout the conference season. NC State didn't stand much of a chance against either team. However, an SEC-style roster in the ACC could catapult the Wolfpack much higher in those two categories.
Translation and simplification
It's hard to imagine just how lost the 2025-26 season would've been for the Wolfpack without Quadir Copeland. Wade brought the talented guard along with him from McNeese State and Copeland emerged as an All-ACC caliber player with more control over the offense as the season went on. That wasn't always the intention for Wade and his staff.
The initial plan was for Copeland to act as a translator for the rest of the roster, getting them up to speed and playing a role as a coach on the floor for the Wolfpack. If Gainey were to bring a few players from Tennessee in to do something similar, he might have an easier time than Wade did getting his other players up to speed on how he wants the Wolfpack to play.
NCAA Tournament experience
Tennessee made the NCAA Tournament every single season with Gainey at the helm. One of the main selling points for Wade's roster was that he and his staff cherry-picked players with extensive postseason experience from other schools and planned to stick them together like a puzzle, ultimately building into a tournament juggernaut by the end of the year. It never happened.
Any player Gainey chooses to bring over from Knoxville would arrive with NCAA Tournament experience playing for him in some capacity. Boswell and Estrella each made it to the Elite Eight last season and the year before, although both played less earlier in their careers. They know what it takes to win, but more importantly, they know what Gainey wants in March. That's far more valuable than experience alone.
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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