Justin Gainey was introduced as NC State’s new coach on Wednesday. In a bit of an unforced error, NC State A.D. Boo Corrigan apparently twice referred to his new coach as Jason Gainey.
Not an auspicious start, but perhaps Gainey will perform better than Corrigan did.
Here are some of Gainey’s comments from his introductory presser:
- “We’re going to defend, we’re going to rebound, and we’re going to take care of the basketball. It’s that simple. And when you watch us play on TV, I want you to be able to say that’s the hardest playing team in the country. That’s what we’re hanging our hat on. From an offensive philosophy, a lot will be based on the personnel that we get. But, the one thing you’ll be able to count on every night is guarding.”
- On his staff: “I want to get experience. I want guys around me with a lot of experience also, again, you got to have someone that is young enough to be able to connect with the guys on the team as well. So that’s going to be a huge part. So someone maybe a little younger, that still brings experience but can relate to the guys. I want to have just a variety of characteristics and guys that can come from different backgrounds that can help our guys.”
Meanwhile, over in Chapel Hill, the search continues. The names still most mentioned are Billy Donovan (Chicago Bulls), Dusty May (Michigan) and Tommy Lloyd (Arizona). Interestingly,
chatter about Todd Golden (Florida) and Nate Oats (Alabama) has really died down.
Most of the speculation we have seen centers around Lloyd. Supposedly, he has a strained relationship with his A.D., Desiree Reed-Francois, or at least tension.
This may come from the massive hole Arizona was in when she took the job two years ago, with the athletic department being $50 million in the red.
In today’s world, she has to put football first, so that’s very likely to cause some conflict with Lloyd as the university tries to get Arizona back on track with the pigskin.
However, given what UNC has committed to Bill Belichick, it might not be much easier at UNC. Toss in an expensive buyout and we’ll see.
Arizona has made it clear that keeping Lloyd is a major priority, and losing him after a spectacular season would be a huge hit, not least of all to Reed-Francois.
It’s certainly an interesting situation.
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