Report: NC State finalizing deal to hire Tennessee's Gainey as coach

NC State is finalizing a deal to hire Tennessee assistant Justin Gainey as its head coach, sources told CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.

Gainey was promoted to Tennessee's associate head coach in 2022 and previously had stops as an assistant at Marquette, Arizona, and Santa Clara before joining Rick Barnes' staff in 2021.

The 49-year-old returns to his alma mater, where he played point guard for 128 career games from 1996-2000. Gainey also served on NC State's staff as an administrative coordinator and director of operations from 2006-09.

Gainey's hire comes one week after Will Wade took the LSU head coaching job. Wade spent just one season with the Wolfpack, totaling a 20-14 record and losing to Texas in the First Four game of the NCAA Tournament.

Gainey recently helped Tennessee reach the Elite Eight for the second straight year before the Volunteers lost to No. 1-seeded Michigan 95-62 on Sunday.