A look inside new NC State coach Justin Gainey’s elite defensive philosophy

Over the course of the past year, Will Wade’s running joke ended up being that a team’s worst 3-point shooter hadn’t seen NC State’s defense yet. It seemed as though a different player had a career night each and every outing. From Kansas’ Melvin Council Jr. hitting nine triples en route to a career-best 36 points in a 1-point overtime loss to Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. cashing 10 long-range attempts of his own on his way to a 45-point outburst to embarrass the Wolfpack, NC State’s defensive scheme was exposed more often than not.  Although Wade noted he wanted a top-10 defense — something he’s had just once in his first 12 seasons as a head coach (No. 6 in 2022 at LSU) — and it fell way short of that with the 77th-rated unit in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom., this past season. But after Wade departed for LSU last week, the program’s replacement in the head chair of the men’s basketball program might be exactly what NC State’s fan base has been clamoring for.  His successor, however, knows a thing or two about defense. The Wolfpack is set to hire Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey, the architect of the Volunteers’ elite defensive unit as the team’s coordinator on that end of the floor.  And he’s likely bringing his same ruthless approach to stopping opposing offenses from finding any rhythm. After all, Gainey has an all-or-nothing approach when it comes to playing time.  “For us, defending is a non-negotiable,” Gainey said in a preseason presentation with the Nation For Coaches in early November. “If you can’t guard or you’re not putting effort on that side of the ball, then you just can’t play. For us, ‘I can’t do it’ or ‘I’ve never been a good defender’ Those aren’t good enough responses. You’ve got to figure it out.” Welcome to the new era of NC State basketball. One where defense is just as important as the offense. Gainey, a longtime assistant, has found the recipe that has allowed his units to be among the best in college basketball year in and year out.