ESPN basketball analyst Josh Pastner is back in the coaching world.
Pastner is being hired by UNLV as their next head coach. He is getting a 5-year deal and set to be introduced to the media on Wednesday, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.
Pastner is a name that should be very familiar for college basketball fans. The 47-year-old played for Arizona from 1996-2000. They won the national championship in 1997 and had five NBA players on the roster that season.
Pastner became an assistant coach at Arizona after his playing career ended and served in that capacity from 2002-2008. He then left to assist John Calipari at Memphis from 2008-2009 and replaced Calipari after Calipari left for Kentucky.
Pastner had initial success at Memphis and finished first in Conference USA in his third and fourth seasons. His Tigers went 31-5 in 2012-2013, including a 16-0 mark in conference play. Memphis made the NCAA Tournament four times under Pastner and went 167-73 (.696) overall during his tenure.
After his time at Memphis, Pastner coached Georgia Tech for seven seasons. His teams went 109–114 (.489) and only made the NCAA Tournament once.
Pastner has done media work since being fired by Georgia Tech. He has worked for NBC Sports, CBS Sports Network and ESPN.
UNLV is replacing Kevin Kruger, who went 75–54 over four seasons and 40-34 in conference play. The Runnin’ Rebels did not make the NCAA Tournament in any of Kruger’s four years, so they will be looking to Pastner to change that.
