NC State’s summer rebuild is already showing up in two places that matter most: the weight room and the defensive end.
When media got its first look at the Dail Basketball Center, the message inside the building was impossible to miss. “Gritty not pretty.
The work of one becomes the work of all.” Those are the kinds of refreshed philosophies new head coach Justin Gainey wants stamped across this first season, and they’re already part of the daily routine as all 13 scholarship players are now on campus for summer workouts.
Gainey has spent much of that time pushing the Wolfpack toward a tougher edge on defense, a welcome sight for a fan base that watched last season’s effort on that side of the floor fall well short. But the overhaul isn’t just tactical. NC State has also made a serious push in the weight room, and several players have already gone through noticeable physical changes as the roster tries to handle ACC-level strength.
“We've had multiple guys have big gains,” Gainey said. “Paul [McNeil] is up like eight pounds.
Darius Adams is up 10 pounds. Zymicah Wilkins has lost about 25 pounds.
Eemeli Yalaho is down close to 20 pounds. Kyle [Evans] is up 10 pounds.”
A big part of that work has come from new strength and conditioning coach Cody Dukquits, who previously held the same role at USF under the late Amir Abdur-Rahim and Brian Hodgson. Dukquits helped the Bulls reach the NCAA Tournament this past season, and Gainey said the relationship piece was a major reason he wanted him on staff.
“Cody's been great,” Gainey said. “He's been a great addition to our staff, and we've had some guys make significant gains.
The thing I love about him is that a lot of strength coaches don't take the time to develop those relationships. When I talked to him during the hiring process, he was all about relationships because he saw it the same way I did.
“In order to get the best out of guys and push them, you have to have that relationship.”
Gainey is stepping into a difficult job, especially with the pressure that comes with coaching in the Triangle and trying to move the program forward after the previous era. But NC State’s commitment around him is clear, including an assistant coaching salary pool that is the highest in program history.
For Gainey, the standard is simple and the focus stays on the daily work.
“Connect, develop, compete - those are our core values,” Gainey said. “Those are what we live by, and we talk about them every day, every practice, every film session.
We won't judge it off wins and losses. We're strictly process-driven.
Are we getting better every single day?
“If we can sit back at the end of the season and say that, we've had a hell of a season, and we can be proud of what we've done and accomplished.”
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