Joel Justus officially joins NC State men's basketball staff
NC State men’s basketball officially filled the final spot on its retooled coaching staff Tuesday June 14 with the hiring of Arizona State coach Joel Justus. The addition brings a wealth of recruiting and basketball analytics expertise to the Wolfpack program.
Justus, who graduated from UNC Wilmington, coached at Kentucky prior to his stop in Tempe, Ariz., and was considered the lead recruiter for many of their-five star recruits during that time, helping the Wildcats reel in the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class in 2020.
“I’m excited to welcome Joel to Raleigh,” Keatts said in a press release Tuesday. “He grew up in this state, knows it well and is aware of the great talent that exists here. Joel has a proven track record as a recruiter and teacher of the game, and I believe he is a terrific addition to our staff.”
In addition to attending college in North Carolina, Justus is familiar with the state from his time at Davidson Day School, where he worked as the head basketball coach. He also spent time as an assistant at Elon from 2004-2008. Kentucky hired him just two seasons into his career at Davidson Day as the team’s director of analytics, and Justus quickly worked his way into an assistant coaching role.
He worked in that position for five seasons and was even named to The Athletic’s 40 under 40 list for men’s college basketball in 2020. During his time at the school, he was listed as the primary recruiter for some of their top prospects according to ESPN, including Miami Heat forward and Northside High School alumnus Bam Adebayo. He was also the lead recruiter for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Johnny Juzang. Juzang later transferred and just wrapped up a career as a star for UCLA.
To go along with his recruiting acumen, Justus’ bio at Arizona State said he played a vital part in the development of several of Kentucky’s best guards during that time, including Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyler Herro, who both developed into NBA lottery picks during his tenure.
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“From Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Keldon Johnson to Immanuel Quickley and others, Joel was not only the point guy with some of our players who became special, he helped develop them, teach them and challenge them,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said in a statement after Justus departed for the Sun Devils.
That experience developing NBA-caliber guards could make Justus a welcomed addition for NC State star guard Terquavion Smith, who recently announced he is returning to Raleigh for his sophomore season after impressing scouts during the NBA draft process.
Finalizing a full staff
Justus is the third assistant coaching hire head coach Kevin Keatts has made this year after completely retooling his staff following a last-place ACC finish in the 2021-22 season. Keatts hired Clemson assistant Kareem Richardson and Ole Miss assistant Levi Watkins to replace Mike Summey and Roy Roberson earlier this year, and a third assistant coach position opened up in May when James Johnson stepped down.
The connections to the Carolinas will run deep in this staff between Justus’ history with the region, Richardson’s experience coaching and recruiting in the ACC footprint and Watkins’ firsthand experience as a player for the Wolfpack from 2002-2005.
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