NC State Basketball

Zymicah Wilkins Explains Decision to Stay at NC State

Published

1 month ago

May 1, 2026

The official NC State Men’s Basketball account recently shared a video of freshman forward Zymicah Wilkins explaining why he chose to remain with the Wolfpack.

With roster turnover and coaching changes following Will Wade’s departure, Wilkins had a decision to make, and he made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere.

In the video, Wilkins emphasized one word: loyalty.

Transcript

My name is Zymicah Wilkins, and I’m excited to be running back with the Pack. The word loyalty means sticking it out no matter what. If you’re like me, if you’re with that school, and you love that school, if you want to stay, you can stay and be loyal.

What stood out to me here at NC State was the people. The fans love the basketball, they love the basketball community, they love the basketball players. So, it was really just them showing me love before I committed.

It’s a great place to be. It’s in North Carolina. Everybody shows love since I’m a North Carolina guy.

Me and Coach Gainey have had a bit of a relationship over the past few years. He recruited me when he was at Tennessee. He knows my high school coach very good.

So when they got Coach Gainey, I was like, “OK, I want to stay. I want to play for Coach Gainey.”

I’m very excited to step on the court. You know, this is my first time stepping on the court. Redshirted this past year, so I’m really excited. I can’t wait to go out there.

Just going to go out there and kill. And y’all should expect me, just like I said, go out there and kill, just doing my thing, bringing a lot of energy, hyping up the crowd, getting everybody involved, every one of my teammates involved. So it’s going to be good.

I can’t wait to do it.

Currently, Wilkins is the only player from last years roster to commit to returning next season (waiting on you Paul McNeil Jr.).