Josh Pastner had been coaching on the sidelines for the better part of two decades.
However, Georgia Tech let him go after last year’s college basketball season, following another disappointing showing for the Yellow Jackets.
Pastner has had a successful coaching career, having served as Memphis’s head men’s basketball coach from 2009 to 2016 and for Georgia Tech from 2016 to 2023. He is a basketball analyst, covering games in person for ESPN and CBS Sports Network. He is also involved with Big Ten studio shows for NBC’s streaming service Peacock.
Pastner still lives in Atlanta but commutes to Stamford, Connecticut, for NBC/Peacock studio shows or any game he is assigned to by ESPN/CBSSN in a given week. And while he’s enjoying throwing his hat into the broadcasting ring, he recently participated in a Q&A with the Arizona Daily Star, in which he talked about how this is an opportunity for him to “recenter” himself.
“I had some chances to get back in as a head coach right away, and I elected not to,” Pastner said. “I wanted to take a year and really recenter, and I was excited about trying to do television. I reached out to people on my own. Some networks had seen me do things before and were interested. But it also gave me the chance to be around my kids as much as I can. Because when I was the head coach for a long time, I was gone a lot of times, and I was trying to win games.”
While Pastner admitted that he had opportunities to dive headfirst back into coaching immediately, he emphasized his conscious choice to prioritize personal connection and self-development before potentially returning to coaching with a renewed perspective and perhaps some improved skills.
“I’ve enjoyed doing the television,” he added. “I’ve liked it a lot. I’ve been able to see things from a different perspective. Obviously, I’m keeping notes from my time as a head coach, things that I thought I did well, things I think that I need to do better at, and things that I want to continue to study. I’ve got a long laundry list of things that I need to improve on, so if I get another opportunity as a head coach, it gives me a chance to improve on them.”
While Pastner enjoys working in television, it differs significantly from being a head coach. Although television demands preparation and is challenging, it offers a different type of pressure in comparison to coaching, which holds broader organizational responsibilities. He would be thrilled to run a program again — and it sure sounds like he wants to.
“However, I love doing the television,” Pastner said. “Is there a career in it for me? It’d be really cool, but that would be for the bosses of the different networks to determine. Same thing about coaching — that’s going to be based on athletic directors and presidents. Once we get to March, if opportunities open up, there will be a clearer picture.”
Pastner has newfound energy from his current role and has expressed willingness to consider any future opportunities that come his way — whether they be on the court or in the broadcasting booth. He has also taken the time to reflect on the improvements he can make and seems eager to return to coaching when the right opportunity arises; that passion for coaching hasn’t waned a bit.
