Georgia Tech has hired Josh Pastner

lv20gt

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I look at Pastner very similar to that of Capel.

Both have reputations for being great recruiters and would almost assuredly be an improvement in that area. Both had pretty good success as a head coach until the wheels fell off the last two years, while Pastner wasn't Cal at memphis his first 5 years, he still was pretty good. Both were young coaches who eventually had problems dealing with players. Both have ties to the South East. Main difference I see is that Capel has had 5 years to reflect on what went wrong in his handling of the OU program, and to learn from it by comparison to how K handles Duke.

I don't think this is a great hire, but I think it's a better one for sure than the one we made last time.
 
jwsavhGT

jwsavhGT

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FWIW We are trending on Facebook...

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Josh Pastner Reportedly to Become Team's Next Men's Basketball Head Coach
Pastner will be announced as Georgia Tech's next head coach Friday at a news conference, multiple publications reported. Pastner was head coach of the Memphis Tigers from 2009-2016.
 

RamblinRed

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Here's sort of my parting thoughts.

I am quite skeptical of this hire, you'd be foolish not to be. it looks like a desperate coach and a desperate AD coming together. So here are the questions i'll wait to be answered.

First, what does the contract look like? What is the base salary, what are the incentives, what is the buyout? We have been horrible at these recently have we learned anything

second, did Memphis chip in any money for him to come here - if it has and it allows us to pay down the buyouts then this is more palatable as then you are at least in a situation that if we do have to go out again in 4-5 yrs we should be in a better place financially

Third, the staff. Who does he hire. I have strong feelings here. I think he needs a seasoned former HC on his staff. His best teams he had either a former HC or an asst who became an HC on his staff. This was the mistake Hewitt made not having strong assts after the first 5 yrs. After that person (and I would be fine if its Herrion or someone else of Pastner's choosing) at least 2 of the other 3 staff slots should be local ties. Alot of good names have already been mentioned as potential here - Sharman White, cabral Huff, Korey McCray, Charlton Young (i'd literally throw $350K+ at him to pry him from FSU) IMO, we need to have a staff budget that approaches $1MM per yr.

Fourth, follow recruiting this spring. Does Charlie Moore open his recruitment and does Memphis allow him to follow Pastner. He was the #1 guy i wanted in the 2016 class. If we somehow got him i'd be thrilled. Do we keep all 3 of our currents. I do think that likelihood probably increased today and that is good. Who does he get involved with in the 2017 class. it is really deep in GA - the deepest since at least 2011. GT was involved with some of the second tier guys but wasn't a player for any of the top 50 types. Will that change?



Last comment. I may not be enthused with the hire, but since it is already too late to stop it, i'll say he is my coach now because he is at my school and I want my school to win (I wanted Gregory to win every game he was at GT, I feel the same way about Pastner). I'll be there opening night hoping we start to rebuild this program.

I'll also agree about something else. I don't think there will end up being a middle ground here. Either he will have learned and succeed or he will not and fail.
 
vadimivich

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gtbync said:
All I say is stand behind the coach until you have a reason not too. It's not the hire that some of us wanted but we need to give him a chance. I'm okay with the hire, because at this moment I/we don't know what he's capable of doing at GT.
Click to expand...

What if you already have reason not too? I'm embarrassed my Institute just hired Josh Pastner. Absolutely embarrassed.
 
GTRX7

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vadimivich said:
What if you already have reason not too? I'm embarrassed my Institute just hired Josh Pastner. Absolutely embarrassed.
Click to expand...

I just don't understand this level of disdain at all. It is pretty clear by now that we were turned down by (and/or had almost no shot with) almost all of our top choices. Given that fact, why are you "absolutely embarrassed" by this hire? I agree the contract details and staff will matter, but we don't even know those details yet. I don't see Pastner as discernibly different from Cuonzo or Capel. All guys can recruit but have at least some significant question marks concerning coaching.

Do you really believe the other options we were left with (Kelsey, McCall, Keatts) are unquestionably better hires than Pastner? I certainly don't. I think Pastner has already shown a higher ceiling than what any of those guys have shown. Pastner has some more negatives, but some of that could be due to the fact that the other guys basically still have no real track record. Heck, look at Gregory's first two years as a head coach and compare it to those guys. Looks pretty similar (if not better) to me.

Here is the question for anybody who is "embarrassed" by this hire: who are the guys we should have gone after but didn't who were clearly so much better options (with the stipulation that it must have been reasonably likely they would have accepted an offer)? If you can't answer that, I can't help you.
 
Northeast Stinger

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GTJason said:
Upgraded life in ATL, better conference, fresh start with endless possibilities and low expectations for a few years while you build.
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I truly hope the expectations are low. Over the years I have noticed a few Tech fans who get so miffed that "the wrong coach" was chosen that they spend their time trying to undermine the new guy, even though in the long run all this does is tear the program down even more. I agree with those who say we need to give this guy a chance. He could not breathe at Memphis the last two years, from what I have read. If the fans can create a space for him to relax the first few years he may recover his old mojo.
 
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