NC State head coach Justin Gainey joined the Wolfpack Weekly Radio Show to discuss the upcoming exhibition game, the importance of mental toughness, his use of analytics, and much more!
It’s really exciting to talk to you, Coach, and put you to work off the court by putting the headset on you.
Great to be here.
It is great to be here at The Pit. It doesn’t get any better than The Pit. Great hush puppies.
The fish is amazing, too. They do a great job here and take care of us. We’ve got a great crowd, some familiar faces and maybe some new faces as well. You’ve got an exhibition Sunday in Greensboro, so I want to start with an obvious question. Where did you grow up?
I’m from High Point, which is right near Greensboro.
I went to high school in Greensboro, and I’ve had many special moments at the Greensboro Coliseum.
How far was Greensboro Day School from what is now First Horizon Coliseum?
Roughly 15 minutes. Not far at all.
So you went to high school about 15 minutes from the venue where you’ll coach your first public game with NC State. There was the secret scrimmage, but this will be your first opportunity to have fans in the building with the Wolfpack. What does that mean to you?
Unbelievable.
I pretty much grew up in the Greensboro Coliseum.
I remember going to the ACC Tournament and watching it there when I was in high school.
When I was at Greensboro Day, we played every year in what was then called the Little 4 Basketball Tournament.
We played in the Coliseum every year, and it felt like the big time.
You knew you had made it when you were playing in the Little 4 in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Then I got to college, and my freshman year, the ACC Tournament was held at the Greensboro Coliseum.
That place has seen me play from high school to college, and now I have an opportunity to coach there.
What’s that going to be like? Will there be extra nerves or extra juice, or a sense of comfort because you know the place so well?
I think there will be a sense of comfort.
There will be a lot of familiar faces there.
How many ticket requests have you gotten?
It has gotten out of hand.
At first, I didn’t think I’d need that many, and now it’s completely out of hand.
But there will be a lot of familiar faces in there and a lot of red that we’re excited about seeing.
I want to ask you about the team and what practice has been like. You’re coming straight from Dail Basketball Center. With the Mississippi State exhibition coming up Sunday at 4 p.m., what has practice been like?
Practice has been intense.
We’re at that point where it’s time to start playing somebody else because they know what each other is doing. They know each other’s tendencies.
There are no secrets.
When I call a play, everybody knows what the play is.
It’s really physical. There’s a lot of denying, so you’ve got to get to the counters.
But I’ve been really pleased with the effort every single day, the energy and enthusiasm they bring when they show up to practice and to work.
They also bring a certain maturity that I’m really excited about.
Is there an ideal Justin Gainey game? Is there a certain way you want NC State to win? Do you want to score 95 points? Do you want a specific number of steals or blocks, or a specific rebounding margin? Some teams play extremely slow, while others want to push the pace. Is there a specific vision for how you want the Wolfpack to play?
Not necessarily.
I want to be able to adapt to any situation.
There are going to be a lot of nights where you’re making shots, the offense is clicking, and you can put up 100 points.
Then there are going to be nights where you’ve got to grind it out, get stops, and maybe win 65-64.
I want us to be able to adapt to any situation and any game.
I want our guys to be prepared to handle any game.
That takes mental toughness and the ability to handle business in those situations.
You’ve talked a lot about mental toughness in other media opportunities. How do you instill that? Is it something you talk about, or is it something you have to demonstrate and put players through? How do you coach toughness?
I do think you can coach it, and you’ve got to coach it every single day.
You can’t allow it to slip for one day.
We do it every day with how hard we work and how much we talk about it.
We put them in situations where they have to display mental toughness.
We may run the same play 15 times in a row.
The defense knows what’s coming, and now the offense has to figure out a way to be mentally tough enough to execute when the defense knows exactly what’s coming.
We do a lot of different things to put them in adverse situations, and then they have to figure it out and stay focused.
There’s a certain monotony to that. If you’re on rep 13 and you know reps 14 and 15 are still coming, you’ve got to stay locked in mentally. That’s easier said than done sometimes, especially for younger players.
It is.
But they understand what we’re doing and what the mission is.
We talk about it all the time. We’ve talked about it from day one.
Everything we do is centered on our core values: connect, develop, and compete.
From a competition standpoint, to compete at the level we want to, you’ve got to be the most mentally tough team on the court.
Were you that way as a player? Was mental toughness part of your DNA, and have you carried it with you throughout your coaching career?
As a player, I tried to be that.
Early in my career, I was still developing that part of myself.
As I grew, I understood that I wasn’t the tallest. I wasn’t the fastest. I didn’t shoot the best. I didn’t pass the best.
I had to possess some toughness. I had to have an edge to succeed at that level.
It started before that, when I was growing up and playing against older guys all the time.
Then it continued to grow.
Throughout coaching, when you watch games closely and you’re around those big moments, you understand there are many great coaches and many great, talented players.
A lot of times, it comes down to that toughness factor.
Who can perform under the lights in those tough, adverse situations?
I want to ask you about data analytics and advanced metrics versus feel. As a coach, sometimes you have a hunch or a sense about something. How much do you rely on analytics, advanced metrics, and things like KenPom compared to your feel for the game?
I’m very much into it. We’re very into it.
Analytics are in everything we do right now.
It’s such a great tool. You’ve got to know how to use it and implement it properly.
It gives you a huge advantage when you have the numbers to back up what you’re doing and the plays you’re running.
Now, it’s in everything that we do.
Is there a player on the team this year who reminds you of yourself when you were playing? Is there a Justin Gainey-type player on this roster?
I’d say it’s TBD.
I hope there’s no Justin Gainey.
But all of the guys have characteristics that are important to me and that I felt like I embodied not only as a player, but also as a coach.
All of these guys have something in them that I can relate to.
That’s what made the recruitment of each guy special, and why we were intentional about bringing them into our program.
If I don’t feel like I can connect with a guy, if I don’t have anything in common with him, then I’m probably not going to recruit him.
Do you think this team will be good this year?
I know we will be good this year.
What is the most impactful experience you had as a player at NC State that you use in your current coaching position? Is there a certain moment, game, or experience that you still pull from?
There’s a lot.
I stepped on campus here 30 years ago as a freshman.
This university has helped mold and develop me into the man I am today.
I’ve been part of this university in many different capacities.
I was a student-athlete. I worked within the athletics department. I worked on Coach Sidney Lowe’s coaching staff.
There are multiple experiences and multiple things that I carry with me.
But I’d say the biggest thing I saw, learned, and drew from the most is the love, connectedness, and passion of the NC State family and fan base.
It’s amazing.
It’s been amazing for me to come back and see the outpouring of excitement from our fan base.
They’re craving success and excited to have one of their own back home.
It’s special.
I know this place inside and out.
When I got here on April 1, I was ready to roll my sleeves up and get to work.
I haven’t looked back since.
At the end of each game, what do you want fans to say about your team?
Once that game is over, whether you’re at Lenovo Center or watching at home, you turn off the TV and form your own opinion.
I want you to be able to say, number one, that the team was connected.
They played well together. The ball moved. They seemed to be in sync and knew what the other guy was doing.
I want you to be able to say that the team played hard.
They played as hard as I’ve seen a team play in a long time.
I want you to be able to say that they played for each other.
And then, they competed.
They competed for every loose ball, every isolation drive, every blockout.
They competed in everything they did.
If you can go to bed and say those three things about our team, one, we probably had a really good outcome.
And two, I’ll be proud.
I’ll be really proud.
Let’s go through the roster a little bit. Starting with Preston Edmead, the CAA Rookie of the Year last season, had an impressive year at Hofstra. What type of player do you envision him being at the ACC level, and what has he been like in practice?
Preston’s special. He is special.
You read off his stats, and they’re really eye-opening.
He’s quick, he’s fast, and he can really shoot the basketball.
He’s getting better as a facilitator and as a playmaker. He wants to be better there.
But I think his best attribute is his toughness.
That kid is tough.
He never wants to miss a practice. He never wants to miss a drill.
You could go back to the gym at 10 o’clock tonight, and he’d be in there getting up 500 jumpers.
He eats, drinks, sleeps, and plays basketball.
That’s all he knows.
He’s so consumed with it.
That’s what has impressed me the most about him.
He loves the game. He absolutely loves the game.
Is that work ethic infectious for Kingston Whitty? He’s a true freshman and the lone freshman on the roster. What has the adjustment been like for him, especially practicing against guys like Preston?
I couldn’t imagine being Kingston.
When I came into school, there were three other freshmen with me.
We had those shared experiences to lean on.
When it was tough for me, it was tough for them.
We were able to talk about what it felt like to be freshmen.
For him, he’s the lone freshman among upperclassmen.
Preston and Darius are sophomores, but they’ve been through it before.
Kingston is going through it for the first time, essentially on his own, and his own guys have really embraced him and are taking the time to coach him up and help him through his freshman year.
I’m excited about Kingston.
I think he’s going to be a really, really good player.
He’s probably one of the best athletes on the team.
He holds the state record in Georgia and North Carolina in the high jump at 7-foot-2.
Again, he’s a hard worker.
I’d say he and Preston are the two guys who spend the most time in the gym.
We’ve had to pull Kingston back and tell him, “Hey, slow down a little bit.”
His shoulder will be really sore at practice because he’s shooting so many extra shots.
But his work ethic is there.
Just like Preston, he loves to play the game.
He’s a great athlete.
He’s still developing, but he’s got a chance to be really, really good.
I’ve been really impressed with his growth and development in such a short time.
Jacari Brim broke Chris Paul’s high school scoring and assist records at West Forsyth before transferring in from Appalachian State. How has he contributed to that backcourt group?
Jacari’s been great.
He’s solid.
He’s just a solid, everyday guy.
His role is different than Kingston’s, Preston’s, or Christian’s.
But he accepts his role, embraces it, and approaches it every day with the seriousness it requires.
He knows his role.
“I’ve got to get these guys better. I’ve got to get these guys better.”
He’s got to push them every day and in every drill.
He’s really accepted that and has done a really good job.
Coach Matthew Driscoll is here tonight. He’s the winningest coach in Atlantic Sun Conference history and spent 16 years as the head coach at North Florida. What has it been like having him on your staff?
It’s an honor to have Coach Driscoll on the staff.
I don’t know how many of you guys have had a chance to meet him, but he’s the most positive and energetic guy in every room he’s in.
It’s a pleasure and an honor to have him on our staff.
And his beautiful wife, Miss Carrie. You and Miss Carrie have something in common, right?
We both love popcorn.
That’s a big deal. I love popcorn.
Are you a big movie guy, or is popcorn just an anytime, anywhere thing?
Anytime, anywhere.
We know Paul McNeil Jr. pretty well, but what has it been like actually coaching him every day?
Paul is a great young man.
When we were going through the process of retaining him, one thing that was really important to him, and that he talked about a lot, was development.
He wanted to get better.
He is the best three-point shooter in the ACC and one of the best shooters I’ve ever been around, and he talks about how he can grow, improve, and add to his game.
Having been around him these seven months and seeing how intentional and focused he’s been on development has been impressive.
He’s gained 18 pounds.
He calls me at night asking, “Coach, how was my defense?”
He wants to be a leader.
He’s done a great job of becoming a more vocal leader on this team.
We’ve provided development opportunities for all our guys to grow in that area, and he's really embraced them.
Paul the player, obviously, we know he’s big-time.
He is a big-time player and one of the best in the country.
But his mindset, growth, and development, which I’ve been able to witness and be part of, have just been amazing.
It’s been great.
What has it been like coaching Ven-Allen Lubin, another returning ACC player who is back for his second season with NC State?
Ven brings maturity to the locker room.
He’s been through the ACC. He’s played at a high level and with great efficiency in the ACC, so he can share those experiences with our guys.
He’s the most selfless guy you’re going to meet.
His biggest concern when he was added back to the team was how it would mesh.
He didn’t want to rock the boat. He didn’t want to mess up what we had built over those eight weeks in the summer.
He came in with a “whatever it takes to win” mentality.
Our guys embraced him.
Paul helped with that because he was always talking to the guys about how great a person Ven is.
Then when the guys were able to work with him every day, they got to see it.
Adding Ven was huge.
I’ve been really impressed with his work ethic and his professionalism in how he approaches everything he does.
How has Ven impacted guys like Kyle Evans and Robert Jurkovic, and what has it been like coaching Kyle, who led the nation in blocks last season at UC Irvine?
His impact on those guys has been huge.
It’s one thing for me to tell Kyle, “You’ve got to dunk that ball. If you don’t dunk it in the game, there’s going to be somebody 7 feet tall coming to block it.”
It’s one thing for me to tell him that.
But when Ven has played it, done it, and is his teammate, and he’s telling him, “Hey, you’ve got to do X, Y, Z,” it hits a little differently.
The best teams I’ve been part of are player-led teams.
When you have a guy like Ven and a guy like Paul as your leaders, and they understand what wearing that jersey is all about, what playing on Tobacco Road is all about, and what the rivalries are all about, they can speak to it in the locker room.
For the guys who haven’t experienced it, they’re at full attention and locked in.
Ven has been great for Kyle.
Kyle has been great.
Watching him grow and develop has been fun.
He’s also added weight.
We’re doing a few different things with him defensively, moving him away from the basket at times and allowing him to showcase his versatility and athleticism, including his ability to move and guard smaller players.
He’s helped Ven because now Ven can move more to his natural position at power forward, more of a face-up position.
They both help each other.
