A Former NC State Player’s Perspective on Justin Gainey: Javi Gonzalez

I’ve connected with several former NC State players to get their thoughts on the hiring of Justin Gainey as the new head coach of the Wolfpack men’s basketball team. Next up is former point guard Javi Gonzalez.

So far, we’ve heard from:

Jeremy Hyatt
Brandon Costner
Ben McCauley
Rodney Monroe
Farnold Degand

Gainey spent two seasons on staff at NC State during Gonzalez’s time in Raleigh, one as an administrative coordinator and one as Director of Operations, before taking his first assistant coaching job at Elon.

Gonzalez wrapped up his four-year career at NC State with 764 points, 336 assists, 263 rebounds, and 123 steals. Since graduating, he has played professionally for the past 15 seasons, primarily in his home country of Puerto Rico.

Here’s what Gonzalez had to say about NC State hiring Gainey:

“Big time congratulations to Justin Gainey on becoming head coach at NC State Wolfpack men’s basketball. Justin was one of my coaches during my time in Raleigh, and he’s always been a real one—straight up, competitive, and never afraid to talk a little trash while pushing you to be better. What I respected most was how his thinking and approach to the game and how he treated people, was always with honesty and respect, which, if you know me, means everything. He used to talk to me a lot about mentality and how to carry yourself in practice and in games, and that always stuck with me. It’s a great feeling to see someone I shared that kind of genuine connection with step into this role. I haven’t followed the Wolfpack this closely since Mark Gottfried was there, but now I definitely will be watching every step. It’s always good to see people that contributed to your life positively be in important roles and thrive. I’m proud of him and I’m rooting for him to have real success at a high level.”