Josh Pastner
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Such good exposure
Vespid
Jolly Good Fellow
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If he can somehow....someway, pull off two more wins, it's going to hit critical mass and EXPLODE. It's already really good. He's everywhere.
LibertyTurns
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It’s like we’ve been running around with a $3 bill and all of a sudden it’s popular. Amazing.
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Nice article from the Memphis paper on Pastner and how many Memphis fans are happy for him.
Josh Pastner has a great March Madness story at Georgia Tech and Memphis is happy for him
Mark Giannotto
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Of all the ways in which the college basketball world was exposed to Josh Pastner over the last week – the inspirational voicemail greeting when you call his cell phone, the corny catchphrases, the goofy face shield that’s suddenly become his signature look – there was one detail that felt the most telling.
After Georgia Tech won the ACC Tournament against Florida State on Saturday night, perhaps the biggest achievement of his coaching career, Pastner said he received 1,400 congratulatory text messages. He asked for patience responding to all of them. It didn’t seem like an exaggeration.
His success really might have prompted that many people to reach out, and he really will try to respond to all of them. Just ask longtime Memphis basketball supporter Kay Veazey.
“I’m one of the 1,400. We’ve texted before and after every game this year,” she said Tuesday. “I’ve told him 100 times he doesn’t need to answer. But he always answers.”
Pastner is the main character in a story at Georgia Tech made for March Madness, and maybe the best part of all is that Memphis seems happy for him.
Head over to the popular Memphis Tigers basketball Facebook page. The one where fans find a way to argue about anything. The one that still has this in the URL: Support Memphis Coach Josh Pastner.
Memphis superfan Brandon Bumgarner wrote a post this week that read, in part, “Memphis didn’t end up being a perfect fit for him but he cared about this program. I hope Georgia Tech makes a deep tournament run.”
What followed were hundreds of “likes” and tens of anecdotes in appreciation of Pastner. How he unexpectedly called to say thank you. How he made time to speak to a community organization. Or how he was just “a good guy.”
History and hindsight have been kind to Pastner’s seven-year tenure here, especially now that the Tigers have gone seven years without an NCAA Tournament appearance.
“A couple of years ago, it was he deserved to be run out of town. After he won the ACC, it’s been so positive,” Veazey said. “It seems the tide has turned on Josh. People are happy for him.”
There were obvious shortcomings, like his struggles against ranked opponents and an inability to reach the Sweet 16 and the roster turnover at the end.
But those four-straight NCAA Tournament teams look a lot better now than they did in the moment.
This isn’t meant to re-litigate Pastner’s exit back in 2016. It was still the best move for both sides. Memphis and Pastner each needed a fresh start.
The university power brokers involved in the search for Pastner’s replacement simply chose a replacement (Tubby Smith) who didn’t fit at Memphis. It’s a mistake the Tigers are still trying to emerge from.
Pastner’s transition at Georgia Tech didn’t go so smoothly, either. After an encouraging first season there, Georgia Tech ran into trouble off the court. It was hit with NCAA sanctions caused by major recruiting violations, including a postseason ban last season, related to Ron Bell, a former friend of Pastner’s who had been a presence at Memphis as well.
The whole affair was sordid, and the most salacious of Bell’s allegations were proven to be unfounded and unnecessarily tarnished Pastner’s reputation. Last month, the NCAA vacated multiple sanctions levied against Georgia Tech as part of an appeal ruling.
Right in time for the end to one of the more remarkable Georgia Tech basketball seasons in recent memory.
The Yellow Jackets started out 0-2, with losses to Mercer and Georgia State, and Pastner’s future looked tenuous at best. Since that horrible start, though, he’s beaten coaching greats John Calipari, Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Leonard Hamilton and Jim Boeheim, among others this season.
Then came last week, when Pastner and his team created indelible March Madness images in capturing Georgia Tech’s first AAC Tournament title since 1993. There was senior Jose Alvarado’s emotional celebration as the confetti fell in Greensboro, North Carolina, and there was Pastner, refusing to remove that face shield even during his postgame Zoom press conference.
Georgia Tech (17-8) will begin the NCAA Tournament Friday as a No. 9 seed against No. 8 seed Loyola-Chicago on an eight-game win streak.
This notion that Pastner, 43, couldn’t coach was always short-sighted, even if he didn’t always get the most out of his talent. Just like it is when that blanket statement is thrown around about Tigers coach Penny Hardaway today.
Look at the nucleus with which Georgia Tech is winning. There’s only one top-100 recruit in the bunch.
“It’s been extremely satisfying and gratifying,” Pastner said last week. “The same thing the guys at Memphis did, they did here. Their backs were against the wall and they were on the ropes and instead of laying down and just laying on the canvass, we punched back, punched back, punched back and got ourselves off the ropes. It’s the character of the guys that I’ve coached, that they’ve never laid down. Even when the sky looks like it’s falling, they fought back.”
It’s also a reflection of their coach, though it's sometimes hard to recognize his determination underneath that goofy face shield.
So yes, Pastner did eventually respond to Veazey’s text message on Sunday at 9:26 p.m.
Of course he did.
“So behind on my text!!” he wrote. “Incredible season!!! Let’s win this Friday.”
Josh Pastner has a great March Madness story at Georgia Tech and Memphis is happy for him
Mark Giannotto
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Of all the ways in which the college basketball world was exposed to Josh Pastner over the last week – the inspirational voicemail greeting when you call his cell phone, the corny catchphrases, the goofy face shield that’s suddenly become his signature look – there was one detail that felt the most telling.
After Georgia Tech won the ACC Tournament against Florida State on Saturday night, perhaps the biggest achievement of his coaching career, Pastner said he received 1,400 congratulatory text messages. He asked for patience responding to all of them. It didn’t seem like an exaggeration.
His success really might have prompted that many people to reach out, and he really will try to respond to all of them. Just ask longtime Memphis basketball supporter Kay Veazey.
“I’m one of the 1,400. We’ve texted before and after every game this year,” she said Tuesday. “I’ve told him 100 times he doesn’t need to answer. But he always answers.”
Pastner is the main character in a story at Georgia Tech made for March Madness, and maybe the best part of all is that Memphis seems happy for him.
Head over to the popular Memphis Tigers basketball Facebook page. The one where fans find a way to argue about anything. The one that still has this in the URL: Support Memphis Coach Josh Pastner.
Memphis superfan Brandon Bumgarner wrote a post this week that read, in part, “Memphis didn’t end up being a perfect fit for him but he cared about this program. I hope Georgia Tech makes a deep tournament run.”
What followed were hundreds of “likes” and tens of anecdotes in appreciation of Pastner. How he unexpectedly called to say thank you. How he made time to speak to a community organization. Or how he was just “a good guy.”
History and hindsight have been kind to Pastner’s seven-year tenure here, especially now that the Tigers have gone seven years without an NCAA Tournament appearance.
“A couple of years ago, it was he deserved to be run out of town. After he won the ACC, it’s been so positive,” Veazey said. “It seems the tide has turned on Josh. People are happy for him.”
There were obvious shortcomings, like his struggles against ranked opponents and an inability to reach the Sweet 16 and the roster turnover at the end.
But those four-straight NCAA Tournament teams look a lot better now than they did in the moment.
This isn’t meant to re-litigate Pastner’s exit back in 2016. It was still the best move for both sides. Memphis and Pastner each needed a fresh start.
The university power brokers involved in the search for Pastner’s replacement simply chose a replacement (Tubby Smith) who didn’t fit at Memphis. It’s a mistake the Tigers are still trying to emerge from.
Pastner’s transition at Georgia Tech didn’t go so smoothly, either. After an encouraging first season there, Georgia Tech ran into trouble off the court. It was hit with NCAA sanctions caused by major recruiting violations, including a postseason ban last season, related to Ron Bell, a former friend of Pastner’s who had been a presence at Memphis as well.
The whole affair was sordid, and the most salacious of Bell’s allegations were proven to be unfounded and unnecessarily tarnished Pastner’s reputation. Last month, the NCAA vacated multiple sanctions levied against Georgia Tech as part of an appeal ruling.
Right in time for the end to one of the more remarkable Georgia Tech basketball seasons in recent memory.
The Yellow Jackets started out 0-2, with losses to Mercer and Georgia State, and Pastner’s future looked tenuous at best. Since that horrible start, though, he’s beaten coaching greats John Calipari, Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Leonard Hamilton and Jim Boeheim, among others this season.
Then came last week, when Pastner and his team created indelible March Madness images in capturing Georgia Tech’s first AAC Tournament title since 1993. There was senior Jose Alvarado’s emotional celebration as the confetti fell in Greensboro, North Carolina, and there was Pastner, refusing to remove that face shield even during his postgame Zoom press conference.
Georgia Tech (17-8) will begin the NCAA Tournament Friday as a No. 9 seed against No. 8 seed Loyola-Chicago on an eight-game win streak.
This notion that Pastner, 43, couldn’t coach was always short-sighted, even if he didn’t always get the most out of his talent. Just like it is when that blanket statement is thrown around about Tigers coach Penny Hardaway today.
Look at the nucleus with which Georgia Tech is winning. There’s only one top-100 recruit in the bunch.
“It’s been extremely satisfying and gratifying,” Pastner said last week. “The same thing the guys at Memphis did, they did here. Their backs were against the wall and they were on the ropes and instead of laying down and just laying on the canvass, we punched back, punched back, punched back and got ourselves off the ropes. It’s the character of the guys that I’ve coached, that they’ve never laid down. Even when the sky looks like it’s falling, they fought back.”
It’s also a reflection of their coach, though it's sometimes hard to recognize his determination underneath that goofy face shield.
So yes, Pastner did eventually respond to Veazey’s text message on Sunday at 9:26 p.m.
Of course he did.
“So behind on my text!!” he wrote. “Incredible season!!! Let’s win this Friday.”
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As most on here know, Pastner was in the H*** no category for me 5 years ago. I was vehemently opposed to hiring him. But i'm happy to be wrong. He did exactly what he said he would do from his opening press conference. He was going to build a get old, stay old program and MBob told him he had 5 years to make the Tourney. So mission accomplished in that sense.
He reminds me more of Bobby Cremins than any coach we have had since he retired. He's more of a dork than Bobby was (though Bobby was a little eccentric), but both of them are just extremely positive and incredibly friendly. To get to this point given the obstacles thrown in front of the program (some of which he created himself) definitely required the positivity he possesses. Mostly, i'm happy that the attempt to destroy his career ended up failing.
No one can predict the future, I hope the next 5 years are better than the last 5, we can only wait and see on that but Pastner has at least put this program in the best place it has been in over a decade.
There is one tweet I still remember from 5 years ago. I believe it was from Jeff Goodman. Like most at the time he was taking a little bit of a shot at GT hiring Pastner, but in his tweet he did say GT is a much better fit for Pastner than Memphis ever was.
I was really hoping for Drew or Capel 5 years ago, but after living through the last 5 years, I definitely think GT got the right one out of those 3 for GT.
He reminds me more of Bobby Cremins than any coach we have had since he retired. He's more of a dork than Bobby was (though Bobby was a little eccentric), but both of them are just extremely positive and incredibly friendly. To get to this point given the obstacles thrown in front of the program (some of which he created himself) definitely required the positivity he possesses. Mostly, i'm happy that the attempt to destroy his career ended up failing.
No one can predict the future, I hope the next 5 years are better than the last 5, we can only wait and see on that but Pastner has at least put this program in the best place it has been in over a decade.
There is one tweet I still remember from 5 years ago. I believe it was from Jeff Goodman. Like most at the time he was taking a little bit of a shot at GT hiring Pastner, but in his tweet he did say GT is a much better fit for Pastner than Memphis ever was.
I was really hoping for Drew or Capel 5 years ago, but after living through the last 5 years, I definitely think GT got the right one out of those 3 for GT.
I'm one of them. Happy to be incorrect.
Is this what you were looking for or do we need to show further contrition to make you feel better?
lv20gt
Helluva Engineer
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I'll be honest, I never understood the intensity of the dislike of Pastner as a candidate from the time. I understand not wanting him, but considering our situation at the time, and who we were going after, I didn't see why Pastner was disliked to the extent he was in comparison.
GTLorenzo
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I agree with most everything you said. I wanted Drew. Wasn't overly happy that Pastner was like the 5th or 6th choice. But I will say that he does remind me of Cremins in the ability to remain positive, take blame for things in press conferences and not blame his players and stick to his original plan. Did we get a break by not having to play UVA in the ACCT? Maybe. But I think we could've beaten them.
Yes, he's sort of goofy, but so was Bobby in a different way. I worked at Cremins' summer camp when I was in school. Super nice guy who really cared about his people and random people he just met. I've emailed a bit with Josh and he seems the same way. Very open to talking to anyone and seems to have a passion for success. With things moving in the right direction and a good recruiting class coming in, hopefully we can keep recruiting at a high level and keep improving. I like him.
lv20gt
Helluva Engineer
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Lets also not act like you were just being skeptical. Lets go to the monitor shall we. From the Search of Doom thread....
Also, shout outs to this guy.
iopjacket
Ramblin' Wreck
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I am no genius, but my faith in Pastner's judgement really sank during the Ron Bell affair. I always want a Tech coach to succeed and it looks like Coach Pastner is heading down that path.
Techster
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Yeah, I don't think we need to go down the road of bring up someone else's bad takes. ALL of us have had bad takes at one time or another.
Let's just be happy our program is headed in the right direction, and we've come out the otherside ACC Champions and in the NCAAT for the first time in a decade. It's been a hard 10 years for us GT fans, let's enjoy every second of this beautiful ride and appreciate the fun team Pastner has built.
...of course, if anyone wants to point out @kg01 bad takes, I'm sure everyone is here for it...and any bad ice cream jokes you have about him. (Kidding...kinda...)
Let's just be happy our program is headed in the right direction, and we've come out the otherside ACC Champions and in the NCAAT for the first time in a decade. It's been a hard 10 years for us GT fans, let's enjoy every second of this beautiful ride and appreciate the fun team Pastner has built.
...of course, if anyone wants to point out @kg01 bad takes, I'm sure everyone is here for it...and any bad ice cream jokes you have about him. (Kidding...kinda...)
Tundeballer
Jolly Good Fellow
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I'm not rest sure that one NCAA tournament in a year where things came together in a down ACC and a bunch of experienced upperclassmen mean the Pastner doubters were wrong. But I sure hope he can keep the momentum going.
MtnWasp
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I am most disappointed in GT fans turning on Pastner over Bell. Pastner is naively trusting in a good way and was vulnerable to a sleaze (and criminal) like Bell, and yet, instead of falling-in to defend our coach and program against the sleaze, fans threw Pastner under a bus. This in the face of two independent investigations that identified Pastner as pure victim. Shame on GT fans who still hold this Bell guy against Pastner. That is like hating your grandma for getting mugged.
I didn't know anything about Pastner when he came out of the woodwork when the Drew deal fell thru (which was a real gut punch). I hadn't followed him and was not aware of the unrest of Memphis fans. But I was open-minded about him simply based on winning percentage, which is my main criteria to evaluate a coach.
But year one' surprising results carried a lot of water for me moving forward. What I was most encouraged about was the coherence of schemes on both ends. Even though we didn't have much talent to make shots, we still got open ones. The defense was the best since Hewitt's first half.
After the great Recruiting Whiff of Fall '19, that was the most painful point for me, but the arrival of Banks and Usher via transfer kept my Hope boat afloat.
The play of the team by the end of last season culminating in the win at Littlejohn and locker room celebration was all I needed to see. Hope was being replaced by the stability of solid team play, improving talent and a team that plays hard for the coach. I was convinced that the breakthrough would happen.
I will drop to me knees in thankfulness that Capel did not find his way to Coach our squad. He is at best mediocre and brings to the table all the most dislikable elements of the Duke program, notably punkish physicality. His teams fell apart at Oklahoma as they are falling apart at Pitt.
Pastner had the fire in his belly to get our program off the deck, let's see if he has the fire in the belly to keep the program afloat. I am optimistic.
I didn't know anything about Pastner when he came out of the woodwork when the Drew deal fell thru (which was a real gut punch). I hadn't followed him and was not aware of the unrest of Memphis fans. But I was open-minded about him simply based on winning percentage, which is my main criteria to evaluate a coach.
But year one' surprising results carried a lot of water for me moving forward. What I was most encouraged about was the coherence of schemes on both ends. Even though we didn't have much talent to make shots, we still got open ones. The defense was the best since Hewitt's first half.
After the great Recruiting Whiff of Fall '19, that was the most painful point for me, but the arrival of Banks and Usher via transfer kept my Hope boat afloat.
The play of the team by the end of last season culminating in the win at Littlejohn and locker room celebration was all I needed to see. Hope was being replaced by the stability of solid team play, improving talent and a team that plays hard for the coach. I was convinced that the breakthrough would happen.
I will drop to me knees in thankfulness that Capel did not find his way to Coach our squad. He is at best mediocre and brings to the table all the most dislikable elements of the Duke program, notably punkish physicality. His teams fell apart at Oklahoma as they are falling apart at Pitt.
Pastner had the fire in his belly to get our program off the deck, let's see if he has the fire in the belly to keep the program afloat. I am optimistic.
Vespidae
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Josh represents the Institute well. The style of play at Tech is fun, exciting and confusing to opponents. I loved watching it.
The problem with Josh has always been he left Memphis and pined for AZ. I met him and several of his folks. They consensus was he’s a good guy and a great fit, but was hoping to be somewhere else at this point in his career. GT was supposed to be a short term stint on his way to somewhere else.
I‘m aware of the budget issues that the basketball program has and Josh’s frustration with having to raise money. If you knew the conditions the team traveled under as a D1 program, you would be surprised.
My hope is he stays. He’s young and could be here for decades and really do something for Tech. I always thought that Tech, as an ACC team in Atlanta, should dominate the conference. I hope this happens.
It was great having people stop me on the street (in Auburn!) congratulating Tech and how proud they were to see us win. We do things right at Tech and good people recognize that. Go Jackets!
The problem with Josh has always been he left Memphis and pined for AZ. I met him and several of his folks. They consensus was he’s a good guy and a great fit, but was hoping to be somewhere else at this point in his career. GT was supposed to be a short term stint on his way to somewhere else.
I‘m aware of the budget issues that the basketball program has and Josh’s frustration with having to raise money. If you knew the conditions the team traveled under as a D1 program, you would be surprised.
My hope is he stays. He’s young and could be here for decades and really do something for Tech. I always thought that Tech, as an ACC team in Atlanta, should dominate the conference. I hope this happens.
It was great having people stop me on the street (in Auburn!) congratulating Tech and how proud they were to see us win. We do things right at Tech and good people recognize that. Go Jackets!