NC State assistant takes head coaching job, hires player development staffer
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Brandon Chambers leaves NC State after one season to become UTRGV head coach.
- JoJo Anderson, NC State's director of player development, joins Chambers on staff.
- NC State had sub-100 defensive efficiency early, then >100 in nine of final 10 games.
One of N.C. State’s assistant coaches is headed to the Lone Star state and taking another staffer with him.
The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley hired Wolfpack assistant Brandon Chambers as its next head coach last week after his lone season in Raleigh. He was originally expected to join Will Wade’s staff at LSU, sources previously told the News & Observer, but ultimately accepted his first head coaching job.
“Thank you for accepting us into your community and your family. We will truly miss this city and the state of North Carolina,” Chambers wrote in a social media post. “Thank you North Carolina State for all of the love and passion that showed through my time here. North Carolina State is a very, very special place. I am forever grateful for every relationship that I formed during my time here. You’ve impacted my life more than you’ll ever know. I will carry all of you with me in my heart forever.”
While at N.C. State, Chambers was the team’s defensive coordinator. The defense was inconsistent at times during the first three months of the season, but the team still went 18-6. It had 10 games with a defensive efficiency sub-100, allowing fewer than 100 points per 100 possessions, and the team only gave up 80 points three times during that span.
N.C. State only gave up 80 points one time — the 84-83 win at SMU — in its first 11 ACC games. Things deteriorated quickly in the final month of the season. The Wolfpack finished with a defensive efficiency higher than 100 in all but one of its final 10 games of the season, peaking at 146.7 against Louisville. Additionally, the team gave up 80 points or more in seven of its last 10.
Four of five N.C. State opponents scored at least 90 points from Feb. 24 through March 11.
The Pack had one of its better defensive outings against a Power Four team in its 68-66 season-ending loss to Texas in the NCAA Tournament, but the offense struggled to hit shots.
Chambers joins former assistant Adam Howard in leaving N.C. State for an opportunity to lead a program. Howard was recently hired as the head coach at Troy.
Prior to his time at N.C. State, Chambers coached with Wade at McNeese State, LSU and VCU. He also had two separate stints at Texas Southern, where he helped lead the team to a SWAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
Joseph “JoJo” Anderson will join Chambers at UTRGV, which plays in the Southland Conference, as an assistant coach. He served as the director of player development at N.C. State and helped Paul McNeil develop into a more consistent and confident 3-point shooter.
Anderson previously served on Wade’s staff at McNeese State. He also served as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma State. He played two seasons at UAlbany following time at Northern Arizona and Nevada.
