Josh Pastner Hopes TV Experience Fuels Coaching Revival At UNLV

New UNLV head coach Josh Pastner believes his time in TV gave him a fresh perspective that will help him revive the storied Runnin' Rebels basketball program.

Former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner shouts out to his players against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half of the first round of the ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. | John David Mercer-Imagn Images

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team hired Josh Pastner to be their new head coach this offseason. They brought him out of his studio job and back into coaching. Pastner believes that his experience on TV has given him a different perspective, which will help him improve as a coach and prepare him for even greater success at UNLV than he has had with past teams. 

“The nice thing about being in TV is you have a great opportunity to really study the game, study different programs, go to practices and shoot arounds, talk to coaches," Pastner said. "When you’re competing against them, they aren’t going to let you behind the scenes.

Josh Pastner On How Being On TV Changed His Perspective:

“I could see what things I did well in my first 14 years as a head coach, and some other things where I thought ‘We’ve got to get better at this area or that area.’ It really gave me a chance, from a 30,000-foot perspective, without the pressure of winning and losing, to really get better as a coach. You didn’t have to make a decision on, ‘How are you going to guard this ball screen? What are you going to do on this back screen? What are you going to do in this out of bounds play?’"

Josh Pastner On Why He Left TV For The UNLV Job:

“I loved TV. Absolutely loved it. I had some other (coaching) opportunities, but I didn’t feel they were better than television, and the opportunities that I had in television are hard to get. But when the UNLV job opened, to me, it was an awesome opportunity. It was incredible, because it’s a massive job. The tradition of UNLV is awesome. It’s a sleeping giant. I really believe that maybe the trees just need to be shaken a little bit to kind of wake it back up.”