Why Arizona Basketball Needs Josh Pastner To Save the Program

If Xavier’s Sean Miller, Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel, and all the other current and former coaches decide to spurn Tucson’s sunshine and stay put, Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood would be best served hiring a former face: 31-year old Josh Pastner.

The former Arizona walk-on, assistant coach, and for the past year an assistant and lead recruiter to John Calipari at Memphis would bring back the family atmosphere that the program has lacked the past two years.

Furthermore, Arizona is too good a program to be used by coaches to get better deals and have negative press continuously heaped upon it. Livengood needs a man who wants the job and will not use it as a stepping stone down the road.

Josh Pastner is that man.

Even as a little-used guard under Lute Olson in the mid-'90s Pastner acted more as coach than player. He was almost immediately hired to work under Olson after his eligibility ran out, and then had the foresight to leave the program for Memphis before WWIII really began in Tucson, with Lute Olson’s blessing.

Pastner is a brilliant recruiter, and has brought talent from across the west, most notably California and Texas, to the desert. His deep recruiting ties throughout the west will help Arizona face its first hurdle, its lack of essentially two years’ worth of recruits.

Whoever the head coach is next year, he will need warm bodies to fill the bench, and lots of them. While a coach should not be hired based solely on one year’s worth of recruits he could bring in, it should be noted that the star-studded Memphis recruiting class is up for grabs now that John Calipari has left for Kentucky.

Who’s to say Pastner couldn’t get one or two of them to come to Tucson? It’s not that hard of a sell.

Albeit for only one year, his apprenticeship under Calipari coupled with his near decade under Olson provides Pastner about as much preparation and knowledge possible for a career assistant. Why not go with Pastner?

The obvious, and only, negative about Pastner is his inexperience as a head coach. From an outside perspective, it is understandable to think that he should build his way up to a program of Arizona’s stature rather than beginning his career in Tucson.

This is a valid argument, however if Pastner surrounds himself with a quality, experienced coaching staff he should be able to turn Arizona Basketball around and bring it back to prominence.

First and foremost, Pastner would need an experienced lead assistant, and the most obvious choice would be Jim Rosborough, who was an assistant under Lute Olson both at Iowa and Arizona for 27 years. Other candidates should and undoubtedly would be considered, but whoever is selected must be an old and wise Yoda to Pastner’s Skywalker.

The one and only drawback to hiring Pastner is his inexperience, and having an established lead assistant will help ease the transition.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?