Inside new NC State coach Justin Gainey’s elite defensive philosophy

By Noah Fleischman

Over the course of the past year, Will Wade’s running joke ended up being that a team’s worst three-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 9 triples en route to a career-best 36 points in a one-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 Nations Of 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.

Proof is in the numbers

Gainey has become one of the most successful defensive minds in college basketball. And the numbers back it up. Here’s a look at where Tennessee’s defensive efficiency, according to KenPom, ranked in the five seasons before his arrival at Rocky Top compared to the past five years with him on staff. 

Season (Pre-Gainey)	Defensive efficiency	Season (With Gainey)	Defensive efficiency
2016-17	97.5 (55th)	2021-22	86.4 (3rd)
2017-18	92.4 (6th)	2022-23	87.5 (1st)
2018-19	96.5 (42nd)	2023-24	90.2 (3rd)
2019-20	95.8 (62nd)	2024-25	89.7 (3rd)
2020-21	88.1 (5th)	2025-26	94.4 (14th)

Gainey’s system brought a sense of consistency to Tennessee’s defensive rating. It was able to produce four straight top-five finishes, something that longtime coach Rick Barnes has not had in his entire career up until Gainey’s arrival in Knoxville.

In NC State’s case, the Wolfpack has not ranked inside the top 20 of KenPom’s defensive efficiency rating since it was 16th in 2000 under Herb Sendek. Ironically, Gainey was the Wolfpack’s starting point guard for that squad. The last top-10 defense? Gainey’s freshman campaign, when it ranked sixth in the 1996-97 season.

In other words, it’s been a while. And Gainey has the chance to bring a style of defense that NC State hasn’t seen in three decades.

Gainey’s defensive process

If there’s one phrase that’s bound to be repeated over and over inside the Dail Basketball Center for the foreseeable future it’s “contested twos.” That’s where Gainey’s defensive scheme thrives, looking to make life difficult for opposing teams all over the half court. 

And, in a perfect world, Gainey’s unit wouldn’t concede a single attempt from an opposing offense. 

“We don’t want to give up a shot at all,” Gainey said. “However many defensive possessions we have in a game, that’s how many shot-clock violations we want to have. But, from a conceptual standpoint, we understand that’s not possible.”

While that’s not realistic, there are truly only four types of shots that Gainey can live with allowing: non-paint two-point attempts (runners, floaters and mid-range jumpers), contested non-rim two-point shots, non-rhythm three-pointers and contested three-point attempts from non-shooters.

Gainey’s approach is that his defense needs to be able to affect every single shot on the court. No matter who has the ball, or where they are on the floor, Gainey’s expectation is that the defense will have a hand up and will look to impact the shooter’s look at the rim at all times. 

It’s a habit built through repetition. 

Gainey’s expectation is simple. Whether the team is in practice or just playing one-on-one on their own time, anytime a shot is taken on the court, it must be contested. 

This scheme will avoid what seemed to frustrate NC State’s fan base this past season, where three-point shooters were left open just because they had poor totals going into the game. It was a theory that Wade believed would end up regressing to the mean, handing a shooting turnover to the Wolfpack, but it backfired more often than not. 

Gainey, well, he’s not about that. 

“Whether they can shoot it or not shoot it on the scouting report, you have to get out there and contest,” Gainey said. “As we tell our guys, these are Division I players, anybody can make a wide-open dare shot. And we’re not daring anybody.”

Values of the defensive system

While Gainey’s approach is proven to be effective, how does it actually work? He leans on four different rules in order for the defense to click at the high rate he’s looking for. 

It starts with eliminating quick baskets. It’s easier to defend an opposing offense if they don’t get out in transition with early shot clock opportunities. And the transition defense begins the second his team rises to shoot, sending four players onto the offensive glass. 

This theory works in two-fold — either you’ll get the offensive rebound for a second-chance bucket, or you force the opposing team to stay back on the defensive glass to avoid multiple players from leaking out in transition. In a way, it slows down the opposing offense from getting rolling with numbers on the other end of the floor. 

Gainey also wants his team to protect the paint and the rim. The defensive scheme plays in the gaps with elite closeouts. The method to the madness is to not give any optimal angle to the basket, guarding the ball and “taking pride in not needing help” to defend. 

Additionally, constant communication is a must. No matter what coverage or switch is called on the floor, there’s no debating it mid-play. The defense is expected to run it as it’s deployed, discussing it afterwards on the bench. 

Gainey’s final point within his scheme is the most important: Finishing possessions. No matter what happens, grabbing the defensive rebound is critical to keep opposing offenses from second-chance opportunities, while providing full effort for 50-50 balls is of the utmost importance. 

Accountability

Gainey’s process is what has helped him find success over the past five seasons. But it comes with holding his players accountable for their actions — both positive and negative — on the floor at all times. 

Defense is a daily topic with him at the helm. Gainey makes it one of the first post-game emphases the day after, utilizing a grading system to show how both the entire unit did in a particular game, as well as each individual player.

Some of the key data points Gainey looks for on a game-to-game basis is getting at least seven sacks (three stops in a row), aiming for at least 35 deflections, while limiting teams to 0.95 points per possession or fewer per game. 

Additionally, each player is tracked by how many points they allow per game, which is then extrapolated to what the per 40-minute mark is. If that estimated total is less than 13 points, then that defender’s name is in green on the postgame report. If it’s above the desired mark, it turns red and requires work. 

After all, Gainey’s system is successful based on all five players on the court defending at a high level. It requires a certain buy-in across the board, one that Gainey requires from his entire team. 

And if there’s someone that isn’t as good at defending upon their arrival into the program, Gainey has a solution for that too.

“We identify those guys and we’re not letting them off the hook. When we identify those guys, it doesn’t mean, ‘You don’t have to guard.’ It means, in practice, you’re taking the toughest assignment every day,” Gainey said. “You’re getting some extra defensive work after practice or throughout practice on a daily basis. Those are the guys we identify early, and those are the guys we’re spending even more film and more breakdown drills to make sure they get up to par.”

Gainey has a standard for his defense. And he doesn’t lower the bar for anyone. Either players rise up to the challenge or they don’t play. That mindset is likely to follow him to Raleigh, too.