The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544864
MAY/JUNE 2026 ■ 23 BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN n a bus ride late in his NC State playing ca- reer, starting point guard Justin Gainey was ap- proached by then-as- sistant John Groce while the team was motoring through ACC country. "Have you ever thought about going into coaching?" Groce asked. "I don't want to," Gainey replied. At the time, Gainey didn't know much about what coaching entailed. From his point of view, the job consisted mostly of drawing up X's and O's on a white- board and blowing a whistle in practice. He couldn't picture himself doing that for a living. His plan was to play for as long as his body would allow, navigating the European professional circuit until it was time to find a new career. Would that be in 10 years? Maybe even 20? Gainey wasn't sure, but he did know that coach- ing wasn't for him. Until he tried it. Gainey spent two years playing profes- sionally in Austria and France after his college career ended, then he returned to the Triangle to figure out what came next. He wanted to stay connected to the sport that had given him so much, and coaching was one way to do that. He volunteered to coach Cary Academy's eighth-grade squad in the mid-2000s, tutoring the youngsters on the intricacies of the game. The gig wasn't glamorous. Gainey often found himself riding an activity school bus loaded with 13- and 14-year-olds, but while traveling from one small North Carolina gym to the next, he found his ambivalence toward the coaching profes- sion turn into something else entirely. "I was drawn to it. I wanted to do it," Gainey recently recalled. "I wanted to mentor. I wanted to share my experiences with guys like me that have come from places like I'd come from, who had shared experiences and needed some direction, needed some guidance." A little more than two decades after leading his middle school team to an un- defeated record, Gainey is once again back in the head coaching chair. But instead of helping kids find a competitive outlet, Gainey is tasked with leading his alma mater and building on its rich tradition of excellence on the hardwood. Gainey, who spent the past 19 years working his way through the ranks as an assistant, is the 22nd head coach of an NC State program filled with tradition. He has immense pride in the program and is looking to bring the same sense of de- termination to the job that he displayed as a player. Even though the 49-year-old Gainey has never led a college program, he is con- fident that his experiences have prepared him for what's to come. There are high expectations around the Wolfpack, and the former court general is eager to help pace the team through the ACC. "As I've developed and grown within the profession, you always think you're ready," Gainey said. Early Signs When Groce asked Gainey about his coaching ambitions all those years ago, it wasn't on a whim. NC State's entire staff, led by Herb Sendek, believed the senior had what it took to become an excellent teacher of the game. Sendek, who led the Wolfpack for 10 seasons and is now head coach at Santa Clara, was confident in what he saw. Gainey was the one who always made sure his teammates were aligned correctly on the court. His assured demeanor as NC State's point guard gave Sendek a window into O " I can't be Rick Barnes. I can't be Herb Sendek. I'm Justin Gainey. I'm pulling from all those things I learned. While there may be some people with more experience in differ- ent positions, there aren't a lot of people who have been where I've been." Gainey