UNLV Runnin' Rebels Head Coach Josh Pastner's "Energy Is Different"

We heard from UNLV Runnin' Rebels head coach all week on different topics as we lead up to his Rebels' debut and the tip-off to the regular season. The Las Vegas Review-Journal also did a piece on what some of the close people in his life had to say about him. This is what they had to say about the Rebels' new coach.

UNLV Runnin' Rebels Center Emmanuel Stephen On Head Coach Josh Pastner

“His energy is different,” Stephen said. “Everyone should want to play for him. He doesn’t curse. He’s just business all the time.”

Coach Pastner's Dad Hal Pastner On Josh's Basketball Obsession

“A Whiz-kid coach at age 25, hoops obsessed Arizona Assistant is on the fast track to a top job...

He told me he’d be in basketball the rest of his life, and he has never lost that focus since that day...

For every tournament, he would put together a book of every player, and then he would use physical mail to get it to every coach in the country. I’d get calls from college coaches, saying, ‘This is great. How do I subscribe? This is great information.’ I’d have to say, ‘No. That’s my son. He’s just sending it to you. There’s no money.’”

Hal Pastner On Josh Getting Into Arizona

“He got himself to be the best player on his high school team, the team captain and the MVP,” Hal said. “He wasn’t good enough for the next level. No way. He was slow and couldn’t jump. But he had a passion. He kept writing to all the college coaches, and nobody was interested.

I want your son on my team,” Lute Olson told Hal. “He’s probably never going to play, but there’s something he can do to help.”

Pastner's College Teammate Miles Simon On Pastner

“I was like, ‘Who’s this guy?’ He’s talking a lot, he’s a freshman. He’s not great at basketball. But he made his intentions on why he was there very clear...

Dude, you’re 18. You’ve never even played a college game at this point. How do you know? But he just has this positive attitude and self-belief. And then he instills that positivity and this great attitude into the people that he’s around. He makes you feel like you’re just the most important person in the world...

It all came true. We won the national championship like six or seven months later. And he was saying that from day one. He was like a player development coach before there were really player development coaches...

They’re going to be a very hard-playing team. And he’s going to have his team prepared for each and every opponent.”

A Booster On Coach Pastner

“He treats every player the same.”

Lady Rebels Women's Head Basketball Coach Lindy La Rocque On Coach Pastner

“We text each other all the time. We’ve partnered with marketing to do more things on campus, to make more appearances, to show a united front together for our donors, students and fans. I think the more we can be united, the more people will want to support. He’s breathed a lot of life just into our building, and it makes me want to work harder.”

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