UNLV hired former Georgia Tech and Memphis coach Josh Pastner, who has spent the last two years working as an analyst for ESPN, as its men’s basketball coach, the school announced Tuesday.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Pastner to the UNLV Family as he takes the helm of the Runnin’ Rebel Basketball program,” athletic director Erick Harper said in a news release. “I have had the pleasure of knowing Josh for over 20 years, following his remarkable career from Arizona to Memphis and Georgia Tech.
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“He is a fearless and relentless recruiter with success as a head coach, and is also an exceptional communicator, deeply committed to engaging with the Las Vegas community.”
Pastner is the second high-profile coach Harper has hired away from ESPN. Former Mississippi State and Florida coach Dan Mullen returned to college coaching in December when he was hired by UNLV after Barry Odom left for Purdue. Mullen had spent three years doing games and studio shows for ESPN.
“I am truly enthused about becoming the head coach of the Runnin’ Rebels,” Pastner said in a news release. “This has always been a dream job for me, and I fully recognize the significance of UNLV in the landscape of college basketball. The program holds great importance for both the Las Vegas community and the region, and I am eager to unite Rebel Nation with the goal of restoring the program to national prominence.”
Earlier this month, Harper told the school’s board of regents that the athletic department was facing $26 million in debt and suggested it did not currently have the money to fully cover Mullen’s five-year contract worth $17.5 million. Harper later clarified those comments, saying the school could fulfill all its coaching contracts.
Pastner, 47, spent seven seasons at Memphis and seven at Georgia Tech, going 276-187 overall with five NCAA Tournament appearances (2-5 record) — but only one with the Yellowjackets in 2021. He was the 2017 ACC Coach of the Year and the 2013 Conference USA Coach of the Year.
He replaces Kevin Kruger, who was fired this month after four seasons in which he went 76-55 and failed to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Runnin’ Rebels, once a powerhouse under Jerry Tarkanian in the 1980s and 1990s, have not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2013. Pastner will be their fourth coach in the last 10 seasons.
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Pastner, who started his career as a graduate assistant for Hall of Fame Arizona coach Lute Olson, was only 31 when he replaced John Calipari at Memphis in 2009.
His tenure leading the Tigers started well, with four NCAA appearances in his first five seasons. The program slipped to 37-29 in his final two years in Memphis, but he was then hired away by Georgia Tech in 2016.
He never gained any traction in the ACC with just one 20-win season (his first) and a first-round NCAA Tournament exit in 2021 as the highlights.
Under Pastner, Georgia Tech was sanctioned after the 2016-17 season for recruiting violations committed by an assistant coach and a booster. The school was banned from the 2020 postseason when the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Did UNLV make a good hire?
It’s rare to see a coach get a third job at the level of UNLV when it didn’t work out at his first two spots — Pastner was not fired at Memphis but was paid to leave — but there’s some history here between Pastner and Harper. Harper was the associate athletics director for football operations at Arizona in the early 2000s, and his time there overlapped with Pastner’s when he was an assistant coach for Lute Olson.
Pastner is one of the most energetic people in the sport. He’ll bring a fast tempo to the Runnin’ Rebels and he’s always done well as a recruiter. In hindsight, Pastner’s tenures at Memphis and Georgia Tech were not as bad as they might have seemed in the moment. He made four NCAA Tournaments in seven seasons at Memphis, and the program has only been to three in the nine years since he left.
He only made one tourney in his seven years at Georgia Tech, but it is the program’s only tourney appearance in the last 15 seasons. This doesn’t feel like a hire that’s going to fire up a fan base, but as far as retreads go, Pastner is one of the best options among coaches not currently employed. And one common thread with a lot of hires this cycle: The school didn’t have to pay a buyout to land him. — C.J. Moore, college basketball writer
(Photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
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