Tennessee assistant Justin Gainey already linked to an ACC job that just opened up

The weekend has gotten worse for the Tennessee basketball program as one of Rick Barnes' top assistant coaches in linked to the new Georgia Tech basketball job after they fired head coach Damon Stoudamire. Justin Gainey is a candidate for the new opening according to On3's Joe Tipton. The connection to Georgia Tech comes from the Yellow Jackets hiring Ryan Alpert to be their Athletic Director after J Batt left for Michigan State.

Georgia Tech has been a struggling program but Gainey could turn them around. Gainey has extensive experience in multiple big conferences with stops at Arizonia, NC State, Tennessee, and Marquette. He is also responsible for eight NBA Draft picks during his career showing off how good of a recruiter and player developer he can be:

• 2020 — Josh Green, G — 1st Round (18) — Dallas

• 2020 — Zeke Nnaji, F — 1st Round (22) — Denver

• 2020 — Nico Mannion, G — 2nd Round (48) — Golden State

• 2022 — Kennedy Chandler, G — 2nd Round (38) — San Antonio

• 2023 — Julian Phillips, F — 2nd Round (35) — Chicago

• 2024 — Dalton Knecht, G — 1st Round (17) — Los Angeles Lakers

• 2025 — Chaz Lanier, G — 2nd Round (37) — Detroit

• 2025 — Jahmai Mashack, G — 2nd Round (59) — Houston

Losing assistant Justin Gainey would hurt the Vols

With Rick Barnes seemingly wanting to coach for a few more years, it makes sense Gainey would be interested in a new job to maybe audition for the potential Vols opening in a few years. Many fans want him to take over for Barnes, and if he gets a job the Vols can "scout" him. But also, maybe he likes living in Atlanta and coaching at Georgia Tech so much he doesn't want to leave. It's a double-edged sword.

Either way losing Gainey would be a blow because he's a great coach. Georgia Tech is largely a bad program and hasn't had much success. If Gainey can turn them around it would reinforce how great of a coach he is.