NC State looked for a coach that’s ‘committed to the university.’ It found just that in Justin Gainey

Boo Corrigan stood at a podium on the third floor of Vaughn Towers at Carter-Finley Stadium last Thursday afternoon. NC State’s athletic director arrived to the press conference clad in a red and white button up shirt and a sense of frustration to make of what happened in the previous 48 hours.  He ran through the timeline of men’s basketball coach Will Wade’s messy departure for LSU. One that involved Corrigan feeling as if he was “lied to” throughout the process. And one that was capped by a no-show meeting and a resignation letter sent via email through his agent.  As Corrigan stood to close the chapter on the brief Wade Era — the shortest tenure by any coach in program history, topping Press Maravich leaving for LSU after two seasons in 1966 — he was quick to turn the page to the future.  What traits was the next coach going to have? Corrigan ran through them, including a person with elite people skills, a standout recruiter, and someone that can coach up a winning roster.  But the biggest quality that Corrigan was looking for was one that was looking to get through the bad taste of Wade’s sudden exit: A candidate that desires to be at NC State “We are committed to finding the next coach for our men’s basketball program that wants to be at NC State; that understands who we are; that understands that we’re a tough school; that understands that we’re a great academic institution; that understands that our fan base has very high expectations, and can embrace that,” Corrigan said. “That’s what our mission is, and that’s what we’re going to accomplish.” And after spending all day Saturday on a private jet, criss-crossing the country, to visit the Wolfpack’s top candidates. The result led to NC State hiring Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey