North Carolina State Basketball 2026-27 Preview

The North Carolina State Wolfpack were hopeful that Will Wade would steady the ship after several so-so seasons under Kevin Keatts. However, not long after the Wolfpack was upset by Texas in the First Four game of the NCAA Tournament, Wade decided to return to LSU.

While it was a surprise that Wade left after just one season in Raleigh, the Wolfpack didn’t waste much time choosing their next leader. NC State landed on Justin Gainey, who played for the Wolfpack from 1996-2000. This is Gainey’s first head-coaching job after serving as an assistant coach since 2009. He has been an assistant under Rick Barnes since 2021, with the last four years as associate head coach.

Tennessee associate basketball coach Justin Gainey tells players to sub in during an NCAA college basketball game against Gardner-Webb on Dec. 21, 2025, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Photo Credit: USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

Gainey has a big learning curve ahead of him. Gainey figures to lean on his defensive pedigree, at least in his first season, with ball pressure being key. He emphasized toughness, defense, rebounding, and ball security while building the Wolfpack roster.

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“The one thing that I’ve prided myself on is toughness, and I’ve tried to bring that every day,” Gainey said at his introductory news conference. “As long as I’m your head coach, you can count on that every single day. I’m going to bring that toughness and all of my teams, and my staff and everyone that’s in contact with us will have that toughness.”

Gainey will have 11 newcomers this year, though one of his biggest coups was getting Paul McNeil Jr. and Ven-Allen Lubin to return. McNeil and Rubin were the Wolfpack’s two best offensive players in 2025-26.

3 Returning Players For the Wolfpack

McNeil, the consensus No. 53 recruit in 2024, was one of the best high-volume 3-point shooters in the country last year. McNeil led the team with 105 three-pointers (3.1 per game) while shooting a conference-best 42.7% from the 3-point line….

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Publish date : 2026-09-21 10:00:00

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