Two weeks after Justin Gainey reportedly joined the Arizona staff from a similar role at Santa Clara, Arizona officially announced his hiring via Twitter on Wednesday night.
While the school did so, coach Sean Miller praised Gainey's work ethic and ability to connect with recruits and current players.
“Justin was a self-made player that worked himself into being an ACC point guard at NC State,” Miller said in a statement UA released on Twitter. “He impressed me with his ability to compete, his incredible work ethic and his unselfish nature. Justin possesses these same qualities now as a college basketball coach.”
Miller also said Gainey is a high-character individual whose “ability to connect with today’s players on the recruiting trail and inside our own program” is his biggest strength.
That suggests that Gainey could replace the recruiting and relationship-building skills that fired assistant coach Book Richardson was known for. By also hiring Danny Peters earlier this spring, Miller has now replaced both Richardson and Lorenzo Romar, who left to become Pepperdine's head coach.
Nevada could give Gonzaga and Oregon a challenge as the West's best team next season, after the Martin twins opted to return. That puts the Wolf Pack two over the scholarship limit, but of course there's no doubt they'll make room for Jordan Brown somehow...
Noah Dickerson confirmed he'll be back with fellow seniors David Crisp and Dominic Green with Washington next season.
