Adam Hill: Josh Pastner relentless in efforts to sell community on Rebels

Adam Hill, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Nov 2, 2025

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LAS VEGAS — If you have yet to hear UNLV basketball coach Josh Pastner’s sales pitch for his program and why rebuilding the bond with the community is so important, you’re either not paying attention or just willfully trying to avoid it.

He’s been on your television. He’s been on your radio. He’s been on your favorite social media platform and often in the pages of this very newspaper. I think he may have even done a cameo on the “Love Is Blind” reunion special. (He didn’t, but he probably could have saved it. What a dud.)

Pastner, whose omnipresence marks a drastic change from coaches of the past, has even been known to stop fans and potential fans in the grocery store or outside the gym.

“I’ve been everywhere you can imagine,” Pastner said in a local casino after wrapping up his very energetic weekly radio show. “I really haven’t said no to anything. I want to get the vision out to as many people as we can because we have to get the people back to the Thomas & Mack. Everyone is like, ‘You win and they’ll come back.’ But what came first, the chicken or the egg?”

Pastner has coached in the ACC and Pac-10 when those leagues were at their best. He knows what an overwhelming atmosphere can do for the home team. He’s also coached against UNLV when the Mack is one of those buildings.

He would love to get back to that point.

‘An accessible guy’

He also understands the reality that in the new NIL and revenue-sharing world of college athletics, community involvement is paramount.

But this isn’t just a coach pandering for resources. There’s nothing sleazy about his pitch. This is just who he is, dating back to his days as the next big thing in coaching when he was just a young assistant at Arizona.

“I’m just an accessible guy,” said Pastner, who envisions taking calls unscreened on his show so fans can offer unfiltered thoughts. “Look, I give my email to everyone. joshua.pastner@unlv.edu. You can print that. And I tell people, ‘E-mail me. If you have thoughts, ideas, suggestions. You want to ask why we played zone defense on that one possession or why we called that play out of the timeout. This is your program and I want you to be emotionally invested in your team. You can reach out to me and I want to be as transparent as possible.’”

‘A 24/7 obsession’

It’s a message Pastner has been preaching since his introductory news conference. Winning is of course priority one. But Pastner believes that will only happen if he can rebuild the bridge to the community, one that has been decimated by years of neglect.

And that’s not just lip service. He brought in three beloved former Rebels from different eras as part of his staff in Stacey Augmon, Anthony Marshall and Justin Hawkins.

“They understand what this program is about, what it has been about and how to get it back there. They have a great viewpoint,” Pastner said. “ I think that’s a critical deal as we move forward. I’m not just trying to say things to blow hot air. It’s a 24/7 obsession of mine to get the program back to where people want it to be and that’s all I’m thinking of.”

In his efforts to do so, an understanding he already had about Las Vegas from years of recruiting the area has certainly been reinforced.

“This is a normal, blue-collar, hard-working town,” he said. “And it’s a big city, but a small town where everyone knows everyone. But everyone outside thinks Las Vegas is the lights and the Strip, but it’s really people putting on their hard hats and boots and going to work. And that’s what I’m about. I get it. This is who I am. I’m authentic and genuine about it and I want people to be in it with us.”

Pastner knows reconnecting with fans is just one part of the job. He certainly plans on doing a lot of winning, which will naturally bring some fans back in the mix. While he admits that will be a process, he insists it’s a matter of when not if.

But the bond with the community can start now and Pastner wants the fans to be a part of the rise, not just wait around for the crest.

Competitive excellence

The community has largely been receptive, according to Pastner. Others are taking a wait-and-see approach. All he wants is for people to give his program a chance.

In return, he promises transparency and ownership of the program. He also vows to put a team on the floor that plays with appreciation for that buy-in, displaying what he calls “competitive excellence.”

“Our fans don’t want to see a team that plays entitled, and they won’t,” said Pastner, who promised every loose ball will be contested and every possession will be treasured.

But we don’t have to tell you that here. You’ve probably already heard it from him, either in an interview or in person around town.

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