Report: Arizona State, former Kentucky assistant Joel Justus leaving for North Carolina State

According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium, Arizona State assistant coach Joel Justus will be leaving the program and joining the North Carolina State staff. Also a former Kentucky staffer, Justus will be working with his third school in three seasons.

Goodman laid out the reasoning behind North Carolina State making the move. He pointed to the coaching history Justus has within the state, dating back to his first-ever job.

“Justus has strong ties to the state of North Carolina,” Goodman said. “Played at UNCW, coached AAU and high school in the state and first coaching job was at Elon.”

First being an assistant coach at Elon, Justus left to become the head coach at Davidson Day High School. He took the Patriots to the state tournament Elite Eight in both seasons before getting back into the college coaching world.

Justus only spent one season at Arizona State after spending seven seasons with head coach John Calipari at Kentucky. In Lexington, he started out as the Director of Analytics before earning the job title of “Special Assistant to the Head Coach.”

Now, he will be joining a North Carolina State program in need of some help. The Wolfpack struggled last season, finishing 10 games under .500 overall and 4-16 in the ACC. 2018 was the last time NC State made the NCAA Tournament. In such a basketball heavy state, getting to the postseason is going to be wanted by fans, no matter the circumstance.

Head coach Kevin Keatts has been given another opportunity to turn the program around and acquiring someone like Justus will certainly help.

Due to his background in the state of North Carolina, Justus will help with recruiting efforts. Whether it’s within the state or going after some bigger names national, the new assistant coach will be battle-tested when going up against some big named programs.