Friday Update (April 3):
– I’m a little more confident in McNeil returning based on conversations I’ve had. I’ll take his 60% prediction up to 75%.
– Terrance Arceneaux coming back is a real possibility based on those same conversations. He was paid big last year and didn’t live up to those numbers. That said, there are reasons off the court that Arceneaux will need stability this season, and staying in Raleigh with a coach like Gainey could actually be very beneficial in that regard. If NC State can get him at a reasonable price, I believe they’d be more than happy for him to return.
– Cole Cloer and Mikey Wilkins being at the presser was a public show of support. I’m not sure how money will work out, but if NC State is willing to pay market value, I believe both return.
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(The original article below was posted March 31st)
Justin Gainey will be the next head coach of NC State, but after that, there are a lot of questions still up in the air.
We’re told that names for the staff have been chosen, but it’s not clear who will be accepting and who may be staying put in their current location. We’ll have more on that soon.
Right now, let’s focus on the players.
To be clear, some of this intel we hinted at during the coaching search, and some of it is new as of today. Here is what we’re hearing and thinking.
– Paul McNeil Jr: This is the name everyone is most interested in, and we’re told it’s going to be priority 1A for Gainey (obviously). Right now, we’re hearing it’s 60/40 for P2 staying. We know he will be going through the NBA draft process as he should, but we’ll have to see after that. There is one school in particular I’d be worried about, and they are still playing right now, so maybe State can use that to their advantage and lock him up. I am told that the Gainey hire was ‘the best thing that could have happened for NC State keeping Paul.” And also told that if he WERE to leave, he is definitely not going to Baton Rouge.
– Matt Able: If you’ve followed us, we’ve been pretty clear that keeping Matt Able would be unlikely. He’s going to command a lot of money, and he has prior relationships elsewhere. Even if Wade returned, a reunion was almost certainly not in the cards. Keep a close eye on Miami or dark-horse Stanford. I guess Gainey could put a push on for him, but I think the ship has sailed.
– Terrance Arceneaux: Had Wade stayed, we had word that Terrance likely was not coming back. With a new coach, we’ll have to wait and see. He is a defense-first guy so I can see a world where Gainey sees potential with him fitting the system, but certainly not at the price he was brought in for. Arceneaux was actually one of the more pricier NIL guys on State’s roster last year. Him potentially returning is pure speculation on my end.
– Jerry Deng: I do not expect him back
– Musa Sagnia: I have no intel on Musa’s plans, nor have I heard anything on the Gainey side.
– Zymicah Wilkins: I’ve heard there is a shot that State can retain Mikey. This is a kid who was a 4-star prospect and has great hands and footwork for being 6’9. He transformed his body last year, and the staff was impressed. In fact, had Wade stayed, we were told there was a real shot that Mikey returned as well.
– Cole Cloer: I have heard that Cole was 100% going to wait to see who the hire was before making any decisions, and there was a lot of optimism that he would stay if NC State brought in the right guy. Is Gainey the right guy? I guess we’ll have to wait until the players’ meetings are finished. Cole does follow Justin on Instagram and was once recruited by home, so there’s that.
– Behind the scenes, things are moving so fast. Just a week ago, Justin Gainey was fully focused on Tennessee; now he’s in Raleigh piecing together a staff and a roster with only a week until the portal opens. I like what I’m hearing. Gainey seems more calculated and less panicked.
– Last nugget. Rumors are that this is a 5 year deal with Gainey.
