With the college basketball season over for the vast majority of teams, it is that time of year where programs are firing coaches and bringing in new ones to see who will be their best option to lead their program. One of those teams have made an early decision, with the UNLV Runn' Rebels deciding to hire former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner as their new head coach moving forward.
Pastner last coached for the Yellow Jackets in the 2022-23 season, where he led the team to a 15-18 record. Pastner was the head coach for the Yellow Jackets from 2016-23. During his tenure with the Yellow Jackets, Pastner would make one NCAA Tournament appearance, in the 2020-21 season, and even then it was because the Yellow Jackets went on an improbable winning streak in the ACC Tournament to the point that they wund up winning the tournament.
While with the Yellow Jackets, Pastner had a winning record in three of his seven seasons on the Flats. After frustration from fans about Pastner's lack of being able to get his team to perform in big moments, the Yellow Jackets would wind up firing Pastner at the end of the 2023 season.
After he was let go by the Yellow Jackets, Pastner would take two years off from coaching, and now returns to the court as someone that will take over a program that has seen a little recent success, as the Runnin' Rebels have had a winning record each of the last four years, but they have not made a NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2012-13 season.