Sources: Troy hiring NC State assistant Adam Howard as coach

Troy is hiring NC State assistant Adam Howard as the school's new head men's basketball coach, sources told ESPN.

The sides are finalizing a deal, per sources, after the program's back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.

Howard spent three years at Nebraska before joining Will Wade's staff at NC State, and his offensive acumen and affinity for player development stood out to the Troy brass. His experience working for noted offensive tactician Fred Hoiberg was attractive to Troy, and sources said that Hoiberg gave Howard a strong recommendation.

Howard is also very familiar with the Sun Belt, which was important to Troy's decision-makers.

Howard spent three seasons at Troy from 2016 to 2018, including as an assistant on Phil Cunningham's staff in 2017 when Troy reached the NCAA tournament as a No. 15 seed after winning the Sun Belt tournament.

Howard also spent three seasons at South Alabama as an assistant from 2018 to 2022, gaining more recent experience in the Sun Belt. He was promoted to associate head coach at South Alabama in his final season with the Jaguars. He coached under Richie Riley during his South Alabama tenure, which included a pair of 20-win seasons.

Howard will replace coach Scott Cross, who was hired as Georgia Tech's head coach after guiding Troy to back-to-back Sun Belt regular-season titles.

Troy's recent success has transformed the program into a desired destination in the Sun Belt. New athletic director Kyle George hired Howard from a competitive field of sitting head coaches and top assistants.

Howard takes over a program that has won 20 games in five consecutive seasons. Howard played at Western Kentucky when the Hilltoppers reached the Sweet 16 in 2008.