TUCSON, Ariz. – The University of Arizona men's basketball program and head coach Sean Miller have announced the addition of Justin Gainey as assistant coach. Gainey arrives at Arizona after over a decade working in college basketball, most recently as an assistant coach at Santa Clara University.

"We are excited to welcome Justin Gainey as our new assistant coach," said UA head coach Sean Miller. "Justin was a self-made player that worked himself into being an ACC point guard at NC State. I was an assistant coach during Justin's four years as a student-athlete. Even then, 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. He has worked with some excellent coaches prior to his arrival in Tucson, which includes his latest experience under Herb Sendek at Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference."

Gainey's career in college basketball began as a three-year starter at NC State from 1996 to 2000 for head coach Herb Sendek whose staff included Sean Miller as an assistant coach. He earned honorable mention All-ACC honors for the Wolfpack. Gainey helped guide NC State to the ACC Tournament Championship game as an eight seed in his freshman season, playing in all forty minutes of all four games to earn ACC All-Tournament honors.

"Justin's ability to connect with today's players on the recruiting trail and inside our own program is his greatest strength. Simply put, he has "walked in their shoes" at the highest level of college basketball," Miller noted. "However, his overall approach to teaching the game and developing players on and off the court is what I am most excited about. Justin is a loyal, family centered, good natured, high-character person that I have known for over 20 years."

His coaching career began with a three-year stint at his alma mater, NC State, as Administrative Coordinator and Director of Basketball Operations from 2006 to 2009. Gainey broke into the coaching ranks with Elon University in the 2009-10 season as the program during coach Matt Matheny's rebuild on the program. During his time with the Phoenix, Elon defeated SoCon power Davidson in the conference tournament.

Gainey spent four seasons, from 2010 to 2014, as an assistant coach at Appalachian State where he worked primarily with the Mountaineers' guards. His work with the perimeter players was highlighted by Donald Sims' ascension to first team all-conference honors and the program's all-time scoring record.

He went on to spend three seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations at Marquette under head coach Steve Wojciechowski before joining his former coach, Herb Sendek, as an assistant coach at Santa Clara. While with the Broncos, Gainey worked with SCU's perimeter players that included First Team All-WCC selection K.J. Feagin. Santa Clara's 2018 recruiting class ranks among the ten best mid-major recruiting classes in the nation.