The shockwaves from Will Wade’s exit from NC State reverberated across the college basketball world on Thursday. Wade’s transition puts the Wolfpack in an unusual predicament by having to hire coaches two years in a row.
The Wolfpack find themselves in a similar place as rival North Carolina as they each try to find a coach. The last year both UNC and NC State were searching for a men’s basketball head coach was 1946.
As of Thursday, 4-star wing Cole Cloer, a Hillsborough native, and 4-star center Trevon Carter-Givens are committed to play for State next season. The transfer portal opens on April 7.
Looking back at this season, much of State’s roster was plucked from other schools, including Darrion Williams, Quadir Copeland, Tre Holloman, Ven-Allen Lubin and Terrance Arceneaux. The outlook for next season is now cloudy and State’s forthcoming coach could be looking at another full-scale roster rebuild depending on who follows Wade to LSU.
Here’s a look at some potential candidates to replace Wade after his shocking departure.
Justin Gainey (Tennessee)
Gainey is a former NC State point guard and is currently an associate head coach at Tennessee. The Volunteers have reached the Sweet 16 three seasons in a row.
Gainey, who just turned 49, has no head coaching experience. He’s been a defensive specialist with Tennessee and was promoted to associate head coach in 2022. The Volunteers held Duke to a season-low 52 points in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 in 2023.
He has been on staff at Marquette, Arizona, Santa Clara, Appalachian State and Elon. His hometown is High Point and he played at Greensboro Day School.
Josh Schertz (Saint Louis)
Schertz’s profile has grown in recent years after building one of the country’s best Division II teams. He also has coaching ties to North Carolina. A jump from the Atlantic 10 to the ACC would seem appealing.
Schetz spent 13 years at Lincoln Memorial and compiled a 337-69 record. He’s gained more notoriety at Saint Louis and Indiana State.
On Tuesday, Schertz said, “I think I’ve shown I’m very happy where I am.”
Schertz was an assistant at High Point and Queens. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2024 at Indiana State.
Last week, the Billikens won an NCAA Tournament game as a 9 seed in the first round against Georgia.
Archie Miller (Rhode Island)
Miller is currently the head coach at Rhode Island, where he’s had a rough go of things. The Rams have a 55-71 record and have never finished higher than 10th in the Atlantic 10 during his time there.
Wolfpack fans remember Miller from his time as a point guard from 1998 to 2002.
Miller was an assistant at NC State from 2004 to 2006. His most successful head-coaching stint was at Dayton, where he helped win two Atlantic 10 regular-season championships and was the conference coach of the year in 2017.
His career ascended by getting the Indiana job in 2017. However, he couldn’t replicate earlier successes as the Hooisers went 67-56 in his four seasons. Miller never took Indiana to the NCAA Tournament and he was fired in 2021.
Flynn Clayman (High Point)
Clayman’s stock is high right now after leading the Panthers to an upset win against Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
High Point has made the tournament two straight seasons, the last of which was under Clayman. The Panthers went 31-5 this season and were 15-1 in the Big South Conference. Clayman was promoted after serving as associate head coach.
Clayman is just 37 years old.
Mike White (Georgia)
White has connections to athletic director Boo Corrigan and was said to be linked to the 2025 coaching search after Kevin Keatts’ resignation. Georgia reached the NCAA Tournament this season, falling in the first round to Saint Louis.
