Pastner wishes for Ga Tech return after 15-19 year
ATLANTA– Josh Pastner is dealing with an uncertain future as the Georgia Tech males’s basketball coach after another losing season and few indications of development in the ACC program.The Yellow Jackets capped a 15-19 campaign Wednesday with an 89-81 loss to Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC competition in Greensboro, North Carolina.Pastner was asked if he expected to be maintained for a 8th season with the Atlanta school.”I hope to be at Georgia Tech,”he said.
“I like Georgia Tech. I love my task. I have a genuine passion for it, and I believe in it.”
In the end, Georgia Tech president Angel Cabrera and athletic director J Batt, who has actually only been on the job since October, will make the call.Editor’s Picks
“They supervise, so whatever they state, they supervise,” Pastner stated. “I hope I can continue to be at Georgia Tech.”
His best season was an unexpected run to the ACC tournament champion during the pandemic-marred 2020-21 season, which also marked Georgia Tech’s lone NCAA appearance in the previous 13 seasons. The Yellow Jackets were knocked out by Loyola in their opening game.Once among
the ACC’s leading programs, Georgia Tech hasn’t won an NCAA postseason game since 2010.
Pastner left Memphis to take control of at Georgia Tech in 2016, following Brian Gregory’s forgettable five-year tenure.Pastner’s reputation as a high-level employer was supposed to raise the Yellow Jackets’ skill level, but he has rarely landed a heralded recruit throughout his time in Atlanta.His record at
Georgia Tech is 109-113, consisting of a 51-77 mark in the ACC.
“Look, I would inform you that when I got the task, they told me when I was available in, and I consulted with everyone, that it’s going to be … beginning with ground zero,” Pastner, 45, stated. “And they stated you’re going to lose so much your first three or 4 years that you’re going to– we’ve got to have somebody that’s going to be ultra-positive because you’re going to lose a lot.”
Georgia Tech has actually made one NCAA tournament look in Josh Pastner’s seven seasons in charge. Joshua S. Kelly/USA Today Sports
Pastner was 31 when he took over at Memphis for John Calipari in 2009. The Tigers kept right on winning, going 130-44 with 4 NCAA tournament appearances over Pastner’s first 5 seasons.But the program dipped his final two years, publishing a 37-29 mark while failing to make the NCAA competition. When Georgia Tech came trying to find Gregory’s successor, Pastner leapt at the opportunity.”At first they told me they didn’t know
if I could handle it since at Memphis, we had actually won a great deal of games,”Pastner remembered.” I said,’ No, I’m excited about the rebuild. ‘”There were indications of development in his 5th season, when the Yellow Jackets made that one-and-done NCAA look. But they slumped to 12-20 last season, consisting of a 5-15 mark in conference play.This season, Georgia Tech got off to depressing start in the ACC, dropping 12 of its very first 13 league contests, including a nine-game losing streak.Pastner’s team rallied late in the season. The Yellow Jackets won 6 of their final 8 regular-season games,
though that was just sufficient for a 6-14 mark in the ACC. Then they knocked off Florida State 61-60 in the opening round of the conference tournament.Will the strong finish be enough for Pastner to keep his job? Particularly when attendance at McCamish Pavilion has actually plunged the previous 2 years?Pastner’s tenure has likewise
been spoiled by NCAA sanctions linked to a former pal who was implicated of hiring offenses. Georgia Tech accepted a postseason ban
in 2020, when the season shut down anyway because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of its sanctions were reversed on appeal.Potentially operating in Pastner’s favor: The athletic program has actually had a hard time financially and is paying a significant buyout to Geoff Collins, who was fired early last season in his fourth year as Georgia
Tech football coach.Then once again, Cabrera revealed he was willing to dispose a coach who wasn’t getting the job done.Pastner hopes to get one more year to develop on the success of the previous month.”We have actually ended up really well this year,”he stated.
“I wish we started better.”