UNLV Runnin' Rebels Head Basketball Coach Josh Pastner Talks Injuries To Star Players

As we head towards the start of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball season, new head coach Josh Pastner is already dealing with a handful of issues. One of the most notable being getting his players healthy from the injury bug.

Junior guard and transfer from UC Irvine, Myles Che, is currently dealing with a lower right leg injury and has been seen wearing a soft cast. Junior forward Ladji Dembele, who joined the Rebels from Iowa, is also recovering from surgery on his injured foot. Freshman forward Tyrin Jones is also sidelined as he recovers from a separated shoulder.

If the Rebels are going to be successful, it starts with getting their players healthy. Pastner recently talked about dealing with injuries and getting his key players healthy.

Pastner On The Recent Rash Of Injuries

“We’ve had a couple just bumps and bruises as well,” Pastner said. “But the three main things have been the two surgeries and separated shoulder.”

Pastner On Balancing Being Physical And Being Safe

“I believe that you’ve got to have contact and play five-on-five. And obviously you can’t do the next two months where you’re just doing no contact. But you know, we’ve also got to be smart about it.”

Pastner On When He Expects His Players Back On The Court

“I’m expecting all our guys to be back for the start of the season. But a lot of that will be determined based on healing, how aggressively they pursue the rehab, and then how quickly they get back into great cardiovascular shape.”

Pastner On Wanting To Play Physical And Needing To Get Healthy To Do That

“I understand strategically and how the crowd wants us to play, how this town and city wants to play. We’ve got to be blue collar, put our working boots on. We’ve got to be relentless. We’ve got to mirror this community. To me, that’s point B. Point A is that we’ve got to be healthy. It’s a contact sport and things happen, and unfortunately this is part of the deal. But you need to get everyone as healthy as you can, for as long as you can.”

We hope to see all the banged-up Rebels get healthy soon and have a successful and healthy season. It's good to hear that Pastner expects them all to be back soon, and none of them suffered anything that was too much of a long-term issue.

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