NC State Bringing in Veteran Big-Man Whisperer and Elite Recruiter Alvin Brooks III as an Assistant

Justin Gainey is putting together his first coaching staff at NC State, and he’s bringing in another well-traveled, experienced assistant to help lead the way.

The Wolfpack is finalizing a deal to hire Alvin Brooks III as a full-time assistant coach. Brooks, who turns 46 this year, has spent the last 14 seasons coaching at the high-major level.

Most recently, he served as associate head coach at Kentucky for two seasons, where he worked closely with the team’s big men (which is where we believe he’ll slot in with NC State). Before that, he spent eight years at Baylor, working his way up to associate head coach under Scott Drew. During his time in Waco, the Bears won the 2021 national championship, claimed two straight Big 12 regular season titles, and consistently put strong teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Brooks has a solid reputation as a recruiter. While at Baylor, he played a big role in landing top talents like five-star prospect VJ Edgecombe, along with Keyonte George and Ja’Kobe Walter, and he was the primary recruiter on several of those prospects, including helping Baylor land what was then the program’s highest-rated recruiting class. He also played a key role in landing key transfer portal pieces Mouhamed Dioubate and Jaland Lowe for Kentucky last offseason.

His coaching path started at the junior college level, where he helped Arkansas-Fort Smith win a national title in 2006 and Midland claim one in 2007. He’s the only assistant who’s been part of back-to-back national championships at two different junior colleges. From there, he moved on to Bradley, Sam Houston State, and then four seasons at Kansas State before joining Baylor and eventually Kentucky, where he focused on developing the team’s frontcourt, helping players like forward Andrew Carr (who earned an NBA free-agent deal) and Ansley Almonor (who posted a rare 50-40-90 shooting season).

Brooks played college basketball at Midland and later at Idaho State, where he graduated with a degree in finance in 2002. His father, Alvin Brooks II, just finished a four-year run as head coach at Lamar.

Gainey’s staff is filling up fast. He’s already added former Georgia assistant Anthony Goins as the team’s offensive coordinator and brought in Riley Collins from Tennessee, where he served as assistant director of player development. They also plan to keep assistant general manager Patrick Stacy, who has been heavily involved in the ongoing transfer portal work (we have not confirmed his new role yet).

This hire gives Gainey a veteran coach with strong recruiting ties and plenty of experience at successful programs as he begins building the Wolfpack in his own direction.

Could he bring anyone from Kentucky?

A couple of guys Brooks had a hand in getting have already entered the transfer portal this offseason. The most notable are Mouhamed Dioubate (forward) and Jaland Lowe (guard). Big man Brandon Garrison has also entered the portal.

It remains to be seen whether any of those players will follow Brooks to NC State, but his recent connections could give the Wolfpack an inside track in a couple of them.