Ace recruiter Joel Justus reportedly joins NC State men's basketball
NC State men’s basketball filled the final spot on its retooled coaching staff Wednesday with the reported hiring of Arizona State coach Joel Justus. The Wolfpacker learned of the news early Wednesday afternoon, and Jeff Goodman was the first to report the hiring.
Justus, who graduated from UNC Wilmington, coached at Kentucky prior to his stop in Tempe and was considered the lead recruiter for many of their-five star recruits during that time, helping the Wildcats record the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class in 2020.
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, his 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
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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 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 nearby, and Levi Watkins, who played for the Wolfpack 2002-2005.
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