Here’s who NC State basketball coach Justin Gainey is adding as his assistants
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gainey is finalizing deals with longtime assistants Alvin Brooks and Matthew Driscoll.
- Driscoll has North Florida head coach history and was interim at Kansas State.
- Staff additions provide Power Four and mid-major experience as portal opens.
The N.C. State men’s basketball staff is starting to come together with the expected additions of two longtime coaches.
First-year head coach Justin Gainey is working to finalize deals with Alvin Brooks and Matthew Driscoll. Both have stops at the same schools but during different time periods.
Who is Alvin Brooks?
Brooks has coached since 2004 and worked his way through the ranks. Most recently, he was the associate head coach at Baylor (2016-24), where he won a national championship in 2021 under head coach Scott Drew. He was also an associate head coach at Kentucky from 2024-26.
He joined Mark Pope’s staff at Kentucky in the 2024-25 season. In Year 1, he helped Pope guide the Wildcats to a Sweet 16 appearance. This season, Kentucky’s season ended in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Brooks began his coaching career on the junior college level and helped Arkansas-Fort Smith — now a four-year Division II institution — win an NJCAA Championship in 2006. A year later, he was on staff at Midland College when it won the title.
He played point guard for two years at Midland, making a run in the 2000 NJCAA Tournament, and finished his career at Idaho State.
Who is Matthew Driscoll?
Driscoll comes to Raleigh from Kansas State, where he served as the associate head coach and interim head coach following Jerome Tang’s midseason termination. While he was unable to turn the season around, Driscoll played a key role in building the Wildcats’ offense around star shooter PJ Haggerty. Haggerty averaged 23.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in 2025-26. Haggerty, who was recruited by N.C. State last offseason, is back in the transfer portal.
Prior to his brief stint with Kansas State, Driscoll spent 16 years as the head coach at North Florida. He went 248-264 overall during his time with the Ospreys and 143-118 in ASUN competition. UNF finished in the top four of the ASUN 10 times during Driscoll’s tenure, including a trio of first place finishes. The Ospreys earned a First Four bid in 2015, its first trip to the NCAA tournament in program history, and an NIT bid in 2016. The team won the ASUN again in 2020 before the postseason was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.
He won ASUN Coach of the Year honors in each season North Florida won the league.
Driscoll also has stops at Wyoming, Clemson and Baylor. He played basketball at Butler County Community College in Pennsylvania and Greensboro College.
NC State basketball coaching staff under Justin Gainey
Brooks and Driscoll join Anthony Goins on N.C. State’s basketball staff. Driscoll is the only assistant with head coaching experience.
Gainey told reporters last week he hoped to hire a staff with a variety of backgrounds and experience. Driscoll provides veteran knowledge of the head coaching role, and his staff has knowledge of Power Four and mid-major basketball.
Assistant general manager Patrick Stacy is expected to be retained. Tennessee assistant director of player development Riley Collins is reportedly joining the staff, though his role has not been shared.
Gainey has worked to put together his staff quickly. The transfer portal opened on Tuesday and closes April 21. Most of the Wolfpack’s current players have entered the portal, but several are open to returning after evaluating their options.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 1:57 PM.
