NC State Narrows Basketball Coach Search to Two Leading Candidates

A charter plane registered to Seven Wolves LLC out of Pinebluff traced a telling arc Saturday: Sanford to St. Louis, then northwest to Chicago, then south to Greenville-Spartanburg. By the time it landed, NC State had conducted two head coaching interviews in a single day and still had not extended a formal offer to either man.

Josh Schertz, the Saint Louis head coach who met with Wolfpack brass Saturday morning, withdrew from consideration by Sunday. That left Justin Gainey, a former NC State guard from 1996 to 2000 and current associate head coach at Tennessee, as the program's most visible remaining target. NC State officials flew to Chicago on Saturday afternoon for that second interview, according to PackPower's Cory Smith.

The urgency is financial as much as it is competitive. Will Wade departed for LSU after just one season in Raleigh, walking away from a six-year contract worth more than $17 million. Every week without a head coach carries recruiting consequences: unsigned commitments can flip, transfer portal targets look elsewhere, and NIL collectives lose the ability to make coordinated pitches around a specific staff and vision.

Schertz had looked like the higher-profile swing. He compiled a 48-21 record over two seasons at Saint Louis, including a 29-6 campaign that ended in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed, beating No. 8-seed Georgia before falling to Michigan. He had also just signed a six-year extension worth more than $22 million with the Billikens, a deal reached earlier this month that complicated any pursuit from the start. Schertz told reporters Saturday that NC State made no job offer during their meeting. By Sunday he was out, having already turned down interest from Syracuse as well.

Gainey brings a different kind of currency: institutional identity. He played four seasons for the Wolfpack, is a North Carolina native, and has spent the last several years on Rick Barnes' staff at Tennessee, earning a promotion to associate head coach before the 2022 season. Barnes used an Elite Eight press conference Saturday to make the case publicly, noting that Gainey was the lead recruiter on 5-star freshman Nate Ament before vouching for his fit in the current landscape. "Justin has an incredible feel for the game, really understands players," Barnes said. "He works at it. Terrific recruiter. Understands the NIL era today." Former NC State football standout Torry Holt and basketball legend Chris Corchiani have amplified those endorsements on social media.

This is the second consecutive season the position has come open. Gainey's name surfaced last time too, before Wade was hired. "I love NC State. It's a great place," Gainey said during that earlier search, acknowledging he had kept close tabs on the program since his playing days.

Athletic director Boo Corrigan held a Thursday press conference invoking a Philip Rivers line, telling reporters "the Wolfpack ain't for soft people," and laid out criteria that describe Gainey closely: a coach who recruits, connects internally and externally, and understands the modern game. "I don't think it has to be a sitting head coach at this point," Corrigan said. The NC State Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting Friday, but that session focused on renegotiating Wade's buyout down from $5 million to $4 million, not on the next hire.

No offer had gone out as of Saturday afternoon. The longer the search runs, the steeper the recruiting hole the next coach inherits.