May 12, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Josh Pastner, an assistant coach at the University of Arizona the past six years, has been recommended to join the Memphis men's basketball coaching staff, head coach John Calipari announced Monday. Pastner's hiring is pending approval of the University and Tennessee State Board of Regents.

"We are excited that Josh is joining our staff," said Calipari. "To add a coach with the experience and success Josh has is a plus for our program and the University. We are always looking to move forward and improve our basketball program in every way, and I believe Josh can help us to do that."

In Pastner's six years as a full-time assistant coach from 2003-08, Arizona averaged nearly 23 wins per season (137-60 record; .695 winning percentage), captured two Pac-10 regular season championships (2003, 2005) and advanced to two NCAA Tournament regional finals (2003, 2005). The Wildcats earned NCAA Tournament berths in each of Pastner's six seasons as an assistant coach.

"This is a great opportunity for me to be able to work not only for one of the nation's top basketball programs but also under one of college basketball's best coaches in John Calipari," said Pastner. "I want to thank and give credit to the former assistants whose tremendous efforts helped make the Memphis program what it is today. I just want to assist in continuing the momentum they started.

"I'm also excited about moving to Memphis. I've heard a lot of great things about the University and city and look forward to getting involved in the community."

Pastner, who was with the Arizona program as a player, administrator and coach since 1996, was a key cog in the Wildcats' recruiting efforts and working with the program's big men.

In six seasons on the Arizona coaching staff, Pastner's tireless efforts on the recruiting trail paid big dividends, as the Wildcats continued to successfully recruit top-notch student-athletes. Arizona's recruiting classes were among the best nationally in each of his six seasons as an assistant. In June of 2005, Rivals.com's Chris Wallace named Pastner one of college basketball's top 25 recruiters, writing, "Any list of top recruiters must include Pastner." In May 2008, FoxSports.com rated Pastner as the No. 7 high-major recruiter in the country.

"Josh has proven over the years that he is a tireless recruiter and coach," said ESPN.com's Andy Katz. "He even wears me out on the phone and that's hard to do considering I spend countless hours on the cell during the day. He'll fit in perfectly with coach Calipari and his staff. Amazingly, Cal may not be the most talkative person on the staff any more."

Pastner's hard work is not only seen on the recruiting trail, but also on the court as evidenced by the outstanding play of Arizona's frontline. Former Wildcat All-Americans Luke Walton and Channing Frye each flourished under Pastner's tutelage. Both showed marked improvement each season under Pastner, eventually turning themselves into NBA draft picks - Walton a second-round pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2003 and Frye a first-round pick of the New York Knicks in 2005.

Pastner's efforts were also evident in the progress of current Wildcat Jordan Hill. An unheralded recruit when he entered the program in 2006, Hill blossomed into one of the finest big men in the Pac-10 Conference, posting averages of 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game to go with a .620 field goal percentage in 2007-08.

During his time at Arizona, Pastner was also involved in a wealth of charitable organizations, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson, Boy Scouts of America, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Naval Special Warfare Foundation, Special Olympics and various local law enforcement support groups to name a few. His charitable efforts got him named to the Tucson Business Edge's "40 Under 40" list for 2007. The honor recognizes local business leaders under 40 years of age. The annual list not only recognizes recipients for professional success, but community involvement, public service, and participation in trade groups or professional organizations.

In the 2001-02 season, Pastner served as the team's video and recruiting coordinator, as well as an administrative assistant. In that role, he oversaw the team's video room and assisted in film editing, as designated by the coaching staff. Pastner coordinated all recruiting mailings and assisted in monitoring the academic progress of the program's student-athletes. He filled the coaching vacancy left when former assistant Jay John left to become the head coach at Oregon State. Pastner assumed his full-time responsibilities on Apr. 10, 2002.

Pastner made the step up from the playing ranks to the coaching world in June 2000 when he was named an undergraduate assistant coach for Arizona. Pastner, who played for the Wildcats from 1996-2000, had similar duties as the three assistant coaches, but could not go on the road to recruit.

The Kingwood, Texas, native played in 42 games as a Wildcat and finished his career with an average of 0.9 ppg. The Wildcats were 42-0 in the games in which he appeared.

Despite his lack of playing time, Pastner's presence in the Arizona program was invaluable, performing many of the small "behind-the-scenes" things that helped the team win the 1997 NCAA championship and two Pac-10 titles (1998, 2000) during his career. Pastner helped break down game tapes and scout opponents, and he was the shot specialist for many of the Wildcat players. In his 12 overall years with the program, Arizona had a 290-103 record (.738 winning percentage).

Pastner earned his bachelor's degree in family studies from Arizona in December 1998, two-and-a-half years after enrolling, the fastest an Arizona student-athlete has ever earned a degree. He finished his master's in teaching and teacher education in December 1999 before beginning work on his doctorate. In his role as an undergraduate assistant in 2000-01, Pastner began pursuit of another undergraduate degree.

Despite taking as many as 33 units a semester while at Arizona, Pastner maintained a high grade-point average, was nominated for the CoSIDA/GTE Academic All-America team and was named to the Academic All-Pac-10 second team as a senior in 2000.

While a high school and college athlete, Pastner began his career as a coach on the AAU circuit. He led the Houston Hoops, a select all-star team from that area, to the 1999 Nike National Summer Championship in San Diego. Pastner also led the Houston Hoops to the Global World Championship in the summer of 2000.

Pastner Year-By-Year at Arizona

		Overall/Pac-10/Finish	NCAA

Assistant Coach

2007-08	19-15/8-10/7th			First Round

2006-07	20-11/11-7/T3rd		First Round

2005-06	20-13/11-7/T4th		Second Round

2004-05	30-7/15-3/1st			Elite Eight

2003-04	20-10/11-7/3rd			First Round

2002-03	28-4/17-1/1st			Elite Eight

Video/Recruiting Coordinator

2001-02	*24-10/12-6/T2nd		Sweet 16

Undergraduate Assistant Coach

2000-01	25-6/12-2/2nd			Championship game

Player

1999-2000	27-7/15-3/T1st			Second Round

1998-99	22-6/13-5/2nd			First Round

1997-98	30-5/17-1/1st			Elite Eight

1996-97	25-9/11-7/5th			Champion

Totals

12 years	290-103/153-59/		12 NCAA/6 Sweet 16/

		4 Pac-10 regular season	5 Elite Eights/2 title games/

		Titles/* Pac-10 Tournament	1 NCAA title

		crown