The Justin Gainey Era at North Carolina State began with a proclamation.
“I am NC State,” Gainey said at the Atlantic Coast Conference media day, and his resume makes it hard to argue.
Gainey returns to Raleigh as the Wolfpack’s third head coach in as many seasons after playing point guard at NC State from 1996-2000. Those squads that made four straight NIT appearances. He later worked in the program as an intern and later was director of basketball operations.
The Wolfpack will host the new-look Campbell Camels of the Coastal Athletic Association in the season opener for both teams on Monday, three seasons removed from Kevin Keatts’ trip to the 2024 Final Four and one year after Will Wade bolted for LSU after a First Four loss to Texas.
“I know we will be good this year,” said Gainey, who spent the previous five seasons as an assistant at Tennessee, the last four as Rick Barnes’ associate head coach.
Guard Paul McNeil Jr. and forward Ven-Allen Lubin are returning starters, and transfers such as point guard Preston Edmead, rim protector Kyle Evans and guard Christian Hammond are expected to slot in for a team picked to finish eighth in the 18-team ACC in the preseason media poll.
Six-foot-6 McNeil (13.8 points) averaged 3.1 3-pointers per game a year ago and led the ACC with a 42.7 shooting percentage from distance. Lubin, 6-9, averaged 13.6 points a a team-high 7.1 rebounds,
McNeil had 23 points and seven threes and Lubin had 22 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots in the Wolfpack’s 130-66 exhibition victory over Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 24. McNeil scored 16 in a 77-73 exhibition win over Mississippi State on Oct. 18.
The 6-foot-10 Evans was the Big West Defensive Player of the year at UC Irvine while averaging 12.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots, while the 6-1 Edmead averaged 16.1 points and 4.4 assists at CAA program Hofstra.
“We want to be the most connected team in the country,” Gainey said,
Campbell is undergoing a complete revamp this season under first-year coach Jimmie Williams, who won 29 games at NCAA Division II Anderson (S.C.) University last season.
Six-foot guard Rashawn Inglemon, who averaged 16.7 points and was the D-II South Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year last season and 5-9 guard AJ Wright Jr. (9.4 points, 5.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 steals) are among the four players who followed Williams to Buies Creek, N.C. No player from Campbell’s 2025-26 roster is back.
“We’re all going through this together,” said Williams, “which in a very unique way has bonded our group. We knew it wasn’t going to be an overnight fix. It has been an absolute adventure.”
Campbell was picked to finish 12th in the 13-team CAA.
–Field Level Media
