Former Memphis coach Josh Pastner hopes Tiger fans feel his ‘gratitude and love’ in return with UNLV
UNLV basketball coach Josh Pastner calls out to players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against UT Martin Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Though it’s been more than nine years, Josh Pastner still thinks about what could have been.
The former Memphis basketball coach wonders what sort of success he would’ve had if he hadn’t left the Tigers in April 2016 for Georgia Tech. If former Tigers forward Austin Nichols hadn’t transferred out the year prior. If a sizable segment of the Tigers’ fan base hadn’t grown frustrated with the program’s lack of NCAA Tournament success in his final few years.
“But that’s obviously just a part of looking back on some things,” Pastner told The Daily Memphian. “We had a great seven-year run. There were some great highs. A couple challenges, for sure. But we had a lot of good players, a lot of good talent. I loved being there.”
This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.
Topics
Memphis Tigers Memphis Tigers Basketball Josh Pastner UNLV Runnin' Rebels Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
Your subscription gives you unlimited access to all of The Daily Memphian’s news, written by nearly 40 local journalists and more than 20 regular freelancers. We work around the clock to cover the issues that impact your life and our community.
You can help us reach more Memphians.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we provide free news access at K-12 schools, public libraries and many community organizations. We also reach tens of thousands of people through our podcasts, and through our radio and television partnerships – all completely free to everyone who cares about Memphis.
When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians.
Pay it forward. Make a fully tax-deductible donation to The Daily Memphian today.
Thank you for reading the local news. Thank you for investing in our community.
Parth Upadhyaya
Parth Upadhyaya covers the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. A Raleigh, N.C., native and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism, Upadhyaya is a longtime college hoops junkie. Prior to joining The Daily Memphian in 2022, he covered high school sports in western Pennsylvania for the Beaver County Times and Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.