The 2023-24 season will be Kevin Keatts’ seventh year as head men’s basketball coach at NC State.
Keatts has an overall record of 113-79 and has guided NC State to a .500 or better record in ACC play in five of his six seasons.
He is just the second coach in the last 40 years to lead NC State to four consecutive seasons of .500 or better play in the ACC.
Keatts' NC State teams have a 76-28 home record in his six years as head coach. The Pack has defeated 10 ranked opponents at home, including three wins over top-10 ranked teams.
The Pack’s 2022-23 season saw NC State finish with a 23-11 record as NC State returned to the NCAA Tournament.
It marked the fourth time in six seasons that Keatts’ teams finished with 20 or more wins.
NC State was led by the dynamic backcourt duo of Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith who both finished the season as second team members on the All-ACC team.
Smith led the team in scoring, assists and steals while also making a team-best 91 three-pointers in his sophomore campaign. He ranked second in the ACC in scoring and sixth in three-pointers made. Smith turned pro at the end of the season and will begin his NBA career in 2023-24 with the Philadelphia 76ers.
In his one season with the Pack, Joiner finished second on the team in scoring, assists and steals. He signed an offseason contract with the Atlanta Hawks.
With the two guards at the helm of the offense, NC State set a program record for fewest turnovers in a season, only turning it over 320 times in 34 games. The 9.4 turnovers per game ranked as the seventh fewest in the NCAA.
The 2022-23 Pack team also led the ACC in steals and turnover margin. NC State’s +3.8 turnover margin ranked 15th in the NCAA.
For the third consecutive season, injuries made an impact on NC State’s season as the 2021-22 season started with the Pack losing Manny Bates for the season just one minute into its season-opening contest. Bates was the two-time reigning shot block champion in the ACC.
Despite solid seasons from sophomore Dereon Seabron and freshman Terquavion Smith, the Pack finished with a losing record for the first time in Keatts’ head coaching career.
Seabron was an All-ACC Second Team selection after leading NC State in scoring (17.3 points per game), rebounds (8.2 rebounds per game) and assists (3.2 assist per game). He was also named the ACC’s Most Improved Player. Seabron is the first NC State player to win that award.
Terquavion Smith burst on the scene as a freshman in the 2021-22 as he averaged 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game to make the All-ACC Rookie team. Smith made 96 three-pointers which set the NC State program record for most three-pointers by a freshman and he led the ACC in three-pointers made, becoming the first freshman to lead the ACC in three-pointers made since Duke’s J.J. Redick in the 2002-03 season.
Keatts had to deal with numerous injuries as only two players appeared in all 25 games in the 2020-21 season. Midway through the season, the Pack was dealt a crippling blow as senior guard Devon Daniels, who was leading the team in points and rebounds at the time, suffered a torn ACL late in the team’s win over Wake Forest on Jan. 27.
Despite the injuries, Keatts rallied the team in February as the Pack ended the regular season with five consecutive wins to clinch a winning ACC record for the fourth consecutive season. The five-game win streak for NC State was the longest ACC win streak for NC State since the 2003-04 season.
In February, NC State went 5-0 in ACC road games, marking the first time the Pack has won five consecutive ACC road games since the 1973-74 season.
Manny Bates was named to the ACC’s All-Defensive team. He was the first NC State player to make the league’s All-Defensive team since Beejay Anya in 2015.
Jericole Hellems earned ACC Honorable Mention honors.
NC State ended the season in the NIT, defeating Davidson before falling in the quarterfinals to Colorado State.
Despite a rash of injuries that saw only two players play all 32 games, Keatts guided his 2019-20 NC State team to its third consecutive 20-win season. The Pack’s season was highlighted by a win over reigning National Champion Virginia in January and a 22-point blowout of sixth-ranked Duke in February. The win over Virginia was the Pack’s first win in Charlottesville since March 2005. NC State’s 88-66 win over Duke was the largest for the Pack over a top-10 opponent since March 13, 1965 when NC State beat third-ranked Saint Joseph's, 103-81, in a consolation game of the NCAA Tournament in College Park, Md. It also marked the largest margin of defeat for Duke to an unranked opponent in the Mike Krzyzewski era.
The Pack’s offense averaged over 80 points in the first two seasons under Keatts. Prior to Keatts taking over the program, NC State hadn’t averaged over 80 points per game since the 1995-96 season. The 2018-19 NC State team averaged 80.1 points per game and scored 2,882 points which is the most points scored by an NC State team in program history.
The 2018-19 also hit 292 three-pointers, the second-most in program history. Both of Keatts’ NC State teams have been prolific from three-point range as both rank in the top-10 for season three-point field goals made in program history.
In 2018-19, NC State won 24 games, its most wins since the 2012-13 season as the Pack advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT. The Pack defeated eventual Final Four participant Auburn in non-conference play and went 9-9 in the ACC portion of its schedule.
In the 2017-18 season, Keatts took a program that was preseason picked 12th in the ACC and led them to five wins over ranked opponents and a 11-7 record in the ACC to finish in a tie for third place. Overall, the Pack finished the season with a 21-12 record and returned to the NCAA Tournament.
Keatts’ first squad served notice of its penchant for taking down ranked foes in November when the Pack defeated second-ranked Arizona and eventual number one pick in the NBA Draft Deandre Ayton in the opening round of the Battle for Atlantis. NC State entered ACC play with a 10-3 record and faced another second-ranked foe when Duke came to PNC Arena for the Pack’s ACC opener. Like the Arizona game, the Pack took down the highly ranked Blue Devils, pulling away in the second half for a double-digit win. Five days later, the Pack added another win over a ranked opponent as the Pack held off No. 19 Clemson by one point.
At the end of January, NC State secured its third win over a top-10 opponent as the Pack went to Chapel Hill and defeated the Tar Heels in overtime. The Pack’s final win over a ranked opponent came at the end of February when NC State dispatched 25th-ranked and eventual Elite 8 team Florida State by 20 points.
Keatts finished the regular season with 21 wins, tying with legendary coach Everett Case (21-4 in 1946-47) for the most regular season wins by a first year head coach in program history. The Pack’s 11 ACC wins are the most for a first-year head coach in program history and the best ACC record for the team since the 2012-13 season.
The Pack’s tie for third place finish in the ACC is the best regular season finish for the Pack in the ACC since the 2003-04 team finished in second place.
Keatts’ first team at NC State set numerous program marks. The Pack set the program and PNC Arena for three-pointers with 19 in the win over Jacksonville in December. The Pack also set the PNC Arena record for points in a game with 116 in the win over Jacksonville. NC State set the PNC Arena record for assists in a game with 31 against South Carolina State and also twice tied the PNC Arena for fewest turnovers in a game with four against Clemson and Louisville.
Keatts came to NC State after three seasons as head coach of UNC-Wilmington. With the Seahawks, Keatts complied a record of 72-28 (.720) and a 41-13 (.759) mark in Colonial Athletic Association play.
"When we set out to hire our next men's basketball coach, we wanted to identify someone with the pedigree, vision and plan to serve as the architect of NC State basketball," said Yow. "Kevin quickly emerged as the perfect fit in each of these areas. His history of success in building programs, of competing at a championship-level in every stop of his career, his commitment to player development and priority in academics make him a tremendous hire for us. We welcome Kevin, his wife Georgette, and two sons K.J. and Kaden to the Wolfpack family."
Keatts led the Seahawks to postseason play all three years he was at UNC-Wilmington after taking over a program without a postseason berth in the previous eight seasons. The Seahawks went to the CIT in 2015 before making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2016 and 2017. The 2016 NCAA Tournament appearance was the school's first since the 2005-06 campaign.
A native of Lynchburg, Va., he guided the Seahawks to CAA regular season titles all three years in Wilmington and was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016. He was the first coach in conference history to earn Coach of the Year accolades in back-to-back seasons.
The 2016-17 UNC-Wilmington team won a school-record 29 games as the team led the conference and ranked 10th in the nation in scoring heading into the NCAA Tournament, averaging 85.2 points per game.
In 2015-16, the Seahawks were tabbed to finish sixth in the CAA prior to the season, but UNCW tied the then school-record with 25 wins as Keatts piloted the team to its first CAA tournament title since 2006.
Keatts took over a program that finished last in the CAA in 2013-14 and led them to a a share of the regular season title for its sixth regular season conference championship in 2014-15.
He came to UNC-Wilmington after three seasons as an assistant coach on Pitino's staff at Louisville and was elevated to associate head coach in January of 2014.
While on staff at Louisville, Keatts and the Cardinals went 96-21 (.821) and Keatts helped the Cardinals compile two straight top-10 recruiting classes en route to a pair of Big East Conference championships and NCAA Final Four appearances in 2012 and 2013.
In July 2013, after surveying more than 200 collegiate coaches, ESPN.com named him the third most respected/feared assistant coach in the nation.
Prior to arriving at Louisville, Keatts served as the head coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. In 10 seasons with two separate stints at Hargrave (1999-2001, 2003-2011), he compiled a 263-17 record with two national prep championships (2004, 2008), three runner-up finishes (2005, 2006, 2009) and two other appearances among the final four prep teams (2007, 2010).
Keatts, who was inducted into Hargrave's Hall of Fame in 2011, won his second national prep title in 2008 with an unblemished 29-0 record – the school's first undefeated season. His teams lost one or fewer games six times.
Hargrave produced 103 players who signed NCAA Division I men's basketball scholarships during his 10 seasons and 18 others played on the NCAA Division II level.
He has coached nine players at the prep level who have reached the NBA, including Joe Alexander, Jordan Crawford, Josh Howard, Vernon Macklin, Mike Scott, Marreese Speights, Sam Young, David West and Korleone Young.
Keatts has also had stops as an assistant coach at Marshall and Southwestern Michigan College. He worked for two seasons at Marshall from 2001-03 and assisted with the program at Southwestern Michigan in Dowagiac, Mich., during the 1996-97 campaign.
He was a two-sport standout in football and basketball at Heritage High School in Lynchburg, Va., and went on to play four seasons of basketball as a point guard at Ferrum (Va.) College. He later earned his Bachelor's Degree while at Marshall.
Keatts and his wife Georgette, have two sons, K.J. and Kaden.
Keatts Career Timeline
2017-present: NC State head coach
2014-17: UNC-Wilmington head coach
2011-14: Louisville assistant/associate head coach
2003-11: Hargrave Military Academy head coach
2001-03: Marshall assistant coach
1999-2001: Hargrave Military Academy head coach
1997-99: Hargrave Military Academy assistant coach
1996-97: Southwestern Michigan assistant coach
Justus joined NC State's program in June 2022 and the 2023-24 season in his second as an assistant coach with the Pack.
In his first season, Justus helped mold an explosive NC State offense as the Pack ranked second in the ACC, averaging 77.7 points per game. In addition to working with the Pack's two All-ACC Second-Team performers in Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith, Justus helped turn Casey Morsell into one of the most lethal three-point shooters in the conference. Morsell made 60 three-pointers in the first three seasons of his collegiate career, but in his first year playing under Justus, Morsell made 78 three-pointers at a 41.1 percent clip, good enough for sixth in the ACC.
Justus came to NC State from Arizona State where he spent one season on Bobby Hurley’s staff. Prior to Arizona State, Justus spent seven seasons on Kentucky’s basketball staff, including the last five as an assistant coach.
Justus joined Kentucky’s staff prior to the 2014-15 season as the director of analytics. Using his analytics, Kentucky's players bought in to a two-platoon system that helped the Wildcats become one of the most efficient teams in the country, including the most dominant defensive team in recent history, as UK became the first team in college basketball history to start a season 38-0.
He was elevated to special assistant to the head coach for the 2015-16 season. With his previous responsibilities remaining an active part of his duties, Justus' role expanded to include scouting future opponents, providing strategies to help advance the program and assisting with special projects assigned by John Calipari.
In his first season as an assistant coach, Kentucky won both the SEC regular-season and tournament championships while advancing to the Elite Eight. He played a key part in securing what the Recruiting Services Consensus Index calculates as the best recruiting class ever in 2017 and the No. 1 class in 2020.
In 2017-18, he was instrumental in the development of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, into the SEC Tournament's most valuable player as UK won its fourth straight tournament championship.
During the 2018-19 season, as Kentucky advanced to another Elite Eight, Justus played a key part in the development of SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year Ashton Hagans. He also worked closely with NBA first-round picks Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro. Justus played a similar role with 2020 SEC Player of this Year Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey, both first-round picks.
Justus helped Kentucky to another Southeastern Conference regular-season title in 2020 and was a key part in what many tabbed as the best recruiting class in the country in 2020. Highlighted as one of the top young assistants in the country, The Athletic tabbed Justus one of the top 40 people in college basketball under 40 and ESPN named him one of the nation's top 40 coaches less than 40 years old in 2020.
Justus started his college coaching career as an assistant coach at Elon University from 2004-08, where he helped guide the Phoenix to a Northern Division title in 2006 and the Southern Conference championship game in 2008.
A 2004 graduate of UNC Wilmington, Justus helped the Seahawks capture two Colonial Athletic Association titles, make three postseason appearances (NIT in 2001 and NCAA in 2002 and 2003) and was team captain his senior season.
Justus is married to the former Hannah Brown. He has two children: Deacon and Siler.
Richardson joined NC State in April 2022 and the 2023-24 season is his second as an assistant coach with the Pack.
In his first season with NC State, Richardson helped guide the program back to the NCAA Tournament as the Pack went 23-11. The Pack deployed one of the ACC's most lethal offenses as NC State averaged 77.7 points per game. NC State also ranked among the nation's leaders in turnovers per game, ranking seventh in the NCAA averaging just 9.4 turnovers per game. NC State also led the ACC in steals and turnover margin.
Richardson and the NC State staff helped mentor one of the nation's top backcourts as Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith both finished on the All-ACC Second Team.
Richardson was head coach at UMKC for 2013-19 and has been an assistant coach at power conference programs such as Louisville, Xavier and Clemson in his 25-year coaching career.
Richardson comes to NC State after one season as an assistant coach at Clemson. Prior to the Tigers, Richardson spent two seasons at Indiana State (2019-21). The Sycamores finished 33-22 and 22-14 in the Missouri Valley Conference over those seasons while producing four All-MVC players.
From 2013-19, Richardson was head coach at UMKC.
He guided the 2016-17 UMKC squad to the second-most victories in a season (18) in school history. The Roos were selected for a postseason tournament for the first time in the program's 30-year Division I history, which included a victory over Green Bay in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational. In 2016-17, UMKC set program records for points (2,691), field goals (911), rebounds (1,213), defensive rebounds (860), 3-pointers (315) and free throws (554). The Roos finished second in team history in assists (451) and third in steals (236). UMKC posted the longest winning streak for the program in 12 years from Jan. 31 – Feb. 18, 2017. The Roos got off to the program's best start in 15 years and advanced to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament for the third straight year.
The 2015-16 team started the season with their best nonconference performances since 2010-11, winning seven games, including a home victory over Mississippi State and against NCAA Tournament participant South Dakota State. Boyd added a scoring punch to the lineup, being named to the WAC All-Newcomer Team, hitting 81 threes. The Roos won a quarterfinal game for the second year in a row in the WAC Tournament, the first time since 2003 and 2004 that UMKC has done it in back to back seasons.
His second season in Kansas City as the head coach was another step in the right direction in 2014-15, and generated several program firsts. The 8-6 WAC record was the first above .500 at UMKC since 2005-06, and its second place finish matched the highest ever in league play. UMKC finished with a 6-1 WAC home record, the best in school history in league play. The 'Roos picked up a win in the WAC Tournament, the first for UMKC in the postseason since 2007. The Roos also played 33 games, the most in school history.
In his first year with the Roos in 2013-14, he led the team to a fifth place finish in the WAC, and the fourth seed in the conference tournament, both of which were the highest since 2006 at UMKC.
Prior to his arrival at UMKC, Richardson served as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville. He helped the Cardinals to the Big East tournament crown and the NCAA Tournament No. 1 overall seed, on the way to the 2012-13 National Championship.
Prior to his year at Louisville, Richardson made the most of one season at Xavier, helping the Musketeers reach the NCAA Sweet 16 and the finals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament that season while posting a 23-12 record. He helped the Musketeers land a Top 20 recruiting class in 2011.
Richardson has been ranked as one of the top assistants in college basketball according to the basketball website Collegeinsider.com. He earned a reputation as a top-level recruiter during his time at Drake, serving as recruiting coordinator and helping head coach Mark Phelps secure the top-rated recruited class in the Missouri Valley Conference in two of his three years there. In his first year as assistant coach at Drake, Richardson helped lead the Bulldogs to post-season play during the 2008-09 season, in the inaugural CollegeInsider.com
As a player, Richardson played in an NCAA Tournament as a freshman at East Carolina University. He then transferred to Evansville in 1995 and quickly established himself as the Purple Aces' top point guard. Richardson, who was a team captain two years, was selected to the Missouri Valley Conference all-academic team in both 1996 and 1997. In 1996, he received notoriety on the MVC all-underrated team.
He graduated from Evansville with a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications and interpersonal communication in 1997 and received his MBA from the University of Indianapolis in 1999.
Richardson, who was born in Tacoma, Wash., was a first team all-state selection at Rantoul (Ill.) Township High School in 1992 and was twice named conference player of the year.
Richardson has three children, Jasmiyn, Amari and Andre.
Watkins re-joined his alma mater in April 2022 and the 2023-24 season is his second as an assistant coach.
Watkins is an NC State graduate, who played for the Pack from 2001-05. He played in 97 career games for NC State, and the Pack advanced to the NCAA Tournament all four years he was with the program.
After graduating from NC State with a bachelor's degree in business management, Watkins started his coaching career at his alma mater. He spent the 2005-06 season as administrator coordinator, before being elevated prior to the 2006-07 season to video coordinator. After three years as video coordinator, he became director of operations for the Pack prior to the 2009-10 season and spent four years in that role.
After nine years away from Raleigh, Watkins returned home for the 2022-23 as an assistant coach and made an immediate impact on the program as he helped lead NC State to a 23-11 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Watkins helped engineer NC State's frontcourt attack as DJ Burns became a cult hero in Raleigh as he averaged 16.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in ACC play.
Watkins return to NC State also helped the Pack land Jarkel Joiner as a grad transfer. Joiner played for three years under Watkins at Ole Miss. Joiner became one of the NCAA's best grad transfers in the 2023-24 season as Joiner averaged 17.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 assist per game to garner All-ACC Second Team honors.
Watkins got his first on-court coaching role in 2023 when he became an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo. He spent two seasons with the Bulls, who went a combined 42-20 in his two years with the program and advanced to the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
In the spring of 2015, Watkins moved onto Arizona State as an assistant coach. He spent three season with the Sun Devils . In Watkins’ final season at Arizona State, the Sun Devils were ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP poll (highest in school history) and was the last undefeated team in Division I men’s basketball. Arizona State went 12-0 in non-conference play and defeated two eventual 2018 NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeds (Kansas, Xavier). Arizona State was the only major conference team to lead their conference in scoring and turnover margin. Also in Watkins’ final season at Arizona State, the Sun Devils broke their home basketball attendance record and participated in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
He spent the last four season as an assistant at Ole Miss. In his first season with the Rebels, Watkins helped bring Ole Miss to the NCAA Tournament as part of one of the nation’s biggest turnaround seasons. Predicted to finish last in the SEC by the media, the Rebels tied for sixth with a 10-8 conference mark.
Primarily coaching the post players, Watkins was instrumental in the growth and production of the Ole Miss frontcourt. After recruiting graduate transfer Romello White to Oxford, Watkins mentored the new Rebel as he embarked on a record-breaking 2020-21 season. White made an impact in his graduate season, breaking the school record for field goal percentage in a single season (64.9 percent). He also led the team in blocks (1.3 per game). Monitoring the pain and protecting the rim, Watkins’ big men helped Ole Miss lead the SEC in scoring defense. In Watkins' season, KJ Buffen blossomed into a starting role to average 10.1 ppg and a team-high 6.1 rpg. Watkins guided Khadim Sy in the transfer’s first season in Oxford, as the forward immediately contributed 9.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg.
A skilled recruiter with a keen eye for talent, Watkins' last recruiting class at Ole Miss was ranked 12th in the country and featured three players that were ranked in the Top-100 individual rankings by ESPN.
While prepped at Montrose Christian High School in Rockville, Maryland. He was a 2001 Parade All-American and led his team to a final top 25 national ranking. As a senior, Watkins was named the Gatorade and USA Today Maryland State Player of the Year.
Watkins and his wife, Monica - also an NC State graduate - have two children: Levi (III) and Leah.
Larry Dixon joined NC State as an assistant coach in August of 2023.
Dixon comes to NC State after spending the last five seasons as an assistant coach at South Florida.
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors voted in January to allow two more assistant coaches on men’s basketball staffs. Dixon, will serve as one of the Pack’s two new assistant coaches that can engage in coaching activities but may not recruit off campus.
Larry Dixon joined the USF coaching staff as assistant coach on May 12, 2018.
In just his second season with the team in 2018-19, Dixon helped USF to the top win turnaround in the NCAA during the 2018-19 season, as the Bulls won 14 more games than the previous season. In addition, USF turned in a 24-14 overall record to set a new single-season school record for wins. The Bulls would go on to win the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) championship and claim the program’s first postseason title since 1990.
Dixon also played an instrumental role in the development of 2019 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year Laquincy Rideau and 2019 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Alexis Yetna.
Dixon helped USF become one of the top defensive teams in the NCAA during the 2019-20 season, finishing the year ranked 20th in scoring defense by allowing only 62.7 points per game. The Bulls limited eight teams to fewer than 60 points during the season and held 27 of their 31 opponents under their scoring average at the time of play. The Bulls also ranked 44th in the nation in turnovers forced with 15.6 per game, and stood 65th in the NCAA in steals with 7.5 thefts per game.
In 2021-22, Dixon helped develop Russel Tchewa and Corey Walker Jr. into one of the best frontcourt tandems in the league. The Bulls were again among the top defensive teams in the country, ranking 45th in the NCAA in scoring defense (64.9 ppg).
Dixon came to Tampa after five seasons as an assistant at Georgia Southern under head coach Mark Byington. Prior to his stint with the Eagles, Dixon had collegiate assistant coaching jobs at Winthrop (2007-12), East Carolina (2005-07), South Carolina State (2003-05) and St. Andrews College (2002-03).
In his final season at Georgia Southern, Dixon helped lead the Eagles to a 21-12 record, including an 11-7 mark in the Sun Belt. In 2016-17, he helped Georgia Southern reach the postseason for the first time since 2006, playing in the College Basketball Invitational.
Prior to arriving at Georgia Southern, Dixon spent the 2012-13 season as head coach at York Comprehensive High School in York, S.C.
During his five seasons (2007-12) on the coaching staff at Winthrop under head coach Randy Peele, Dixon was recognized as the top assistant coach in the Big South by Fox Sports.
Before entering the college game, Dixon served as the head coach at Garinger High School in Charlotte, N.C. for three seasons. In 2001, he led Garinger to a North Carolina High School sectional championship and earned Mecklenburg County Coach of the Year honors from the Charlotte Observer. Dixon also spent one season as an assistant at Carver High School in Winston-Salem, N.C. and one season at South Rowan High School in his hometown of Salisbury, N.C.
Dixon graduated from Johnson C. Smith University (Charlotte, N.C) in 1996, where he was a four-year letterman as a player. He was named the team’s most improved player following his junior season and the top defensive player after his senior season. He helped the Golden Bulls to a pair of CIAA Southern Division titles and a championship game appearance as a sophomore.
A native of Salisbury, N.C., Dixon has two children, Devin and Leah.
Snell is in his fourth season with NC State and the 2023-24 season will be his first as Assistant Coach/Director of Basketball Operations.
Snell spent his first three seasons at NC State in the Director of Basketball Operations role. In the spring of 2023, the NCAA allowed basketball staffs to add two on-court coaching roles to each staff who can serve as assistant coaches, but can not recruit off-campus. Snell will fill one of those roles for the Pack.
Snell joined NC State in May 2020 with over 30 years of experience at the Division l level.
Most recently, Snell spent one season as assistant coach at Ohio in the 2019-20 season. Snell came to Ohio after spending three seasons at the University of Denver. He played a big role in the continued development of Pioneer basketball program as Denver had multiple players earn all-league recognition. Snell was a key part in the Pioneers success on the floor in 2016-17, which resulted in the team posting a 16-14 record and going 8-8 in Summit League play. The eight league wins were the most by the team since joining the league back in 2013. He also assisted in the development of a high-paced offense that led to DU scoring 75.8 points per contest in 2016-17, the most by the team since going up to Division I back in 1998.
Snell spent two seasons as an associate head coach at Santa Clara (2014-16). Snell was also at Air Force (2007-14) for seven seasons, the final two years as associate head coach. Prior to Air Force, Snell spent two seasons (2005-07) as a member of the coaching staff at Louisiana-Monroe. He helped the Warhawks to the co-championship of the Sun Belt's West Division in 2006-07 with an 18-14 record, including a perfect 14-0 mark at home. Prior to coaching at ULM, Snell spent four seasons at Tulane University, where he served as an assistant coach.
A native of Radford, Virginia, Snell served as an assistant at Marshall University for five seasons under head coach Greg White. In his time at Marshall, Snell helped the Herd to an 86-54 (.614) record.
Prior to his move to Marshall, Snell spent three years as an assistant coach at East Tennessee State University. He served the 1992-93 campaign at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and also spent two years at Wingate University and one season at Radford University.
Snell and his wife, Ann, have two sons, Jaden and Jordan.
Wright is in his sixth season with the Pack as Director of Player Personnel.
Wright joined the NC State basketball staff after an eight-year stint at the University of Louisville. Keatts was an assistant coach for Louisville for three seasons from 2011-14 and worked with Wright during that span.
During his final six seasons at Louisville, Wright oversaw the academic support for the Cardinals' men's basketball team as Director of Academic Services. Wright helped guide the Cardinals to earning nearly a 3.0 GPA for six straight semesters and the Cardinals won the 2010-11 BIG EAST Team Academic Excellence Award in posting the highest collective GPA among men's basketball teams.
A native of Scotch Plains, N.J., Wright previously worked with the men's basketball teams at Arizona (2001-04) and Iowa State (2004).
Wright was a two-time All-American wide receiver at Maine. He holds school records in single season receptions (88), yards (1,169) and catches in a game (17). He is the only receiver in Maine history to have two back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons.
Wright earned a bachelor's degree in history from Maine and earned a master's degree in Special Education from Louisville in 2008.
John Janovsky joined NC State in July 2022 and is in his first season with the program as director of scouting/quality control.
Janovsky comes to the Pack from Mississippi State where he spent the 2021-22 season as the Bulldog's director of operations.
Janovsky returned to MSU after he spent 2020-21 as the director of operations at South Florida for Brian Gregory. He previously served as State’s director of scouting and analytics for the 2019-20 season where he oversaw the program’s video operations and statistical metrics. Janovsky also assisted the coaching staff with the development of opponent scouting reports.
The Bulldogs posted a 20-11 record in 2019-20 and captured the program’s best SEC regular season finish since 2010-11. Mississippi State ranked among the nation’s top 15 in offensive rebounding percentage, rebounding margin and blocked shots.
Prior to joining Howland’s staff, Janovsky served as Stanford’s director of operations from 2016-19 for Jerod Haase where he was responsible for the direction and operational oversight of all program activities. He acted as the program’s liaison with the department’s facilities, event management, operations and external relations teams.
Janovsky oversaw the coordination of Stanford’s team travel, scheduled program actives and assisted with non-conference game schedule among his numerous responsibilities. The Cardinal posted one of their best seasons over the last decade in 2017-18 which was highlighted by a NIT trip and a third-place finish in the Pac-12 standings.
Janovsky began his four-year stint on Haase’s staff as the director of scouting and analytics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) during the 2015-16 season. The Blazers captured the Conference USA regular season title en route to a 26-7 record and a NIT appearance.
Boasting more than a decade of experience inside the college basketball community, Janovsky held the director of operations role at Marshall from 2013-15 for Tom Herrion and Dan D’Antoni. He also worked as the video coordinator at Virginia Tech under Seth Greenberg in 2011-12.
Janovsky has possessed operations roles at Duquesne in addition to the Huntsville Flight of the NBA Developmental League. His previous coaching experience include three seasons at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and one season at St. Lawrence University located in Canton, New York.
Janovsky, a native of Fayetteville, New York, is a 2004 graduate of Pittsburgh with a degree in business administration. He also owns a master’s degree in adult and technical education from Marshall in 2013.
Janovsky and his wife Lynn have a daughter Mia.
Jackson Hayzlett is in his second season as Video Coordinator on the NC State men’s basketball staff.
Hayzlett joined the Pack after two seasons as a part of the University of Tennessee at Martin staff. While with the Skyhawks, he spent time in several different roles which included Assistant Coach, Director of Analytics, and Video Coordinator. His main responsibilities included overseeing all basketball video edits for games and practices, creating and analyzing statistical reports, and scouting opponents.
Before joining the Skyhawks, Hayzlett was a volunteer statistical analyst consultant for the NC State men’s basketball program for two seasons. He created data visualizations for analyzing player shooting and scouting Atlantic Coast Conference teams while also analyzing team substitution patterns by optimizing player and lineup efficiencies.
Hayzlett has also worked as a remote video analyst for the Phoenix Suns leading up to the 2019 NBA draft. He contributed in player analysis for the drafting process by tagging video and reporting.
Hayzlett was a student manager for the Bowling Green State University men’s basketball program and also served as an assistant varsity basketball coach at Sidney High School in Ohio. He also spent four years as a mathematics teacher at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, while helping with the varsity basketball team.
Hayzlett earned his Bachelor’s degree in mathematics education from BGSU in 2014 and later received his Master’s of Statistics degree from NC State in 2019. Hayzlett and his wife, Kendall, have one son, Parker.
Zupko is in his third as assistant director of basketball operations with the men's basketball program.
He comes to NC State from Drexel where he spent four seasons as coordinator of basketball operations.
Prior to joining Drexel's staff, Zupko worked for the Hoop Group in Neptune, N.J. since 2006 where he spent nine years as the director of Hoop Group Skills Camp as well as a year as the assistant director of Hoop Group Elite Basketball Camp. In this position, Zupko helped grow the camp to 1975 campers with notable alumni including Karl Anthony-Towns, Kyrie Irving and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Before he moved to the Hoop Group, Zupko spent six seasons as an assistant basketball coach at Hargrave Military Academy, including four seasons as an assistant for Kevin Keatts. He was a member of the Hargrave staff when the team won the national championship in 2004. There helped send 58 players to Division I, while six would go on to play in the NBA, including Joe Alexander, the No. 8 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Zupko also helped to produce two McDonald's All-Americans. At Hargrave, Zupko also served as the head coach of the varsity lacrosse team.
Zupko began his coaching career in basketball in 1995 at Roanoke College in Virginia following the completion of his bachelor's degree. He also holds a master's degree in physical education from the University of South Carolina. Zupko helped guide Roanoke to four NCAA appearances, two conference titles and a Sweet 16 appearance before spending the 1999-2000 season on the coaching staff at Hobart College.