WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The hoop spirit runs in Joel Justus's blood.
He grew up helping his dad with duties at Wake Forest basketball games.
"Helping him with stats and making calls to report scores to ESPN," Justus said. "To ultimately become a ball boy at the ACC tournament."
Justus went from retrieving balls to getting playing time and making buckets as a student at Mt. Tabor High School.
"I played for legendary high school coach Andy Muse," Justus said. "Still have a great relationship with him."
From there, he went on to play at UNC Wilmington and down the line became the assistant coach for NC State.
In his second season coaching with the team, he's made it to the NCAA Championship.
"Getting to the NCAA tournament was a goal of mine as a young player and that was the biggest thing we talked about," Justus said. "Bringing that to NC State is to keep focus throughout the season."
The team dominated in the ACC tournament, securing their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
"We talked about going into DC, limiting our mistakes. Still playing with confidence and desperation, but limiting our mistakes," Justus said. "Our guys did that, they were amazing."
As he and the team prepare to play in the NCAA tournament, Justus reflects on all the experiences that got him to this point.
"I was lucky enough to play at Mt. Tabor High School and then went on to UNC Willmington. I had a wonderful childhood," Justus said. "Very, very blessed."
Justus said the team is still recovering from the five-game win last week, but he said they plan to get a workout in before the game against Texas Tech on Thursday.