NC State reportedly makes splash hire for vacant assistant coach position
NC State coach Kevin Keatts is hiring top Arizona State assistant Joel Justus, according to a report.
Justus, who has significant ties to the region, has also been an assistant coach at Kentucky.
Stadium’s Jeff Goodman was first to report the news, which has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.
Arizona State and former Kentucky assistant Joel Justus is heading to join Kevin Keatts’ staff at NC State, source told @Stadium.
Justus has strong ties to the state of North Carolina. Played at UNCW, coached AAU and high school in the state and first coaching job was at Elon.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 8, 2022
Justus is known as one of the top recruiters in the country. He’s a major addition for Keatts as he looks to get the program back on track to ACC contention.
It’s been a good offseason so far for the Wolfpack. The good news is headlined by Terquavion Smith’s somewhat surprising return to Raleigh despite a good showing during the pre-draft process. He likely would have been a first round pick in the NBA Draft had he chosen to pursue that path.
NC State has made the NCAA Tournament just 1 time in the last 6 seasons (not including 2020, when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19).
