LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It was the first day of a new era at the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday.
UNLV introduced the new head coach of Runnin' Rebels basketball, Josh Pastner.
"This is a dream job. I hope to be here in another 30 years," Pastner told Channel 13.
Nick Walters reports on the beginning of the Pastner era:
In the arena's Strip View Pavilion, fans, players, staffers, and fellow UNLV coaches gathered to welcome the former ACC Coach of the Year to the Scarlet and Gray.
“NCAA tournaments and winning championships, that’s what we want to do," Pastner said at the podium. "It’s going to take a long, long road of hard work, but I don’t want this to be a long process either; we want to win now.”
The Runnin' Rebels' sixth head coach in the past 10 years, Pastner succeeds Kevin Kruger, who was fired this month after four seasons leading the team.
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Channel 13's Nick Walters was at the introductory press conference, catching up with fans, coaches, and the man with the plan.
“50-50, on the fence," UNLV fan Bryan Cole said about his first impressions of the hire. "The more I read into him, I started falling for him a little bit, so we’re here to support him.”
“Got rid of Kruger," UNLV student Matthew Tyler said. "I think Josh Pastner has more experience, national exposure, bring the program back to where it was back in the Tarkanian days.”
“It starts with me because I have to set the tone," Pastner said about restoring a championship culture to UNLV 35 years after its only national title. "The culture starts with how we’re going to do things on an everyday basis. And that’s not just on the floor."
"Whether it’s in the community, doing every media thing possible to make sure we get our message across, and to rally the fanbase," Pastner continued. "From there, for our culture to build, it’s got to be not just talked about, but it’s got to be emphasized, reinforced, and it’s got to have actions.”
Contrary to other reporting when Pastner was hired Tuesday, UNLV athletic director Erick Harper says the 47-year-old coach was the school's top choice.
Harper pointed to Pastner's time working with highly respected basketball minds like Lute Olson and John Calipari as a big reason for making the hire.
"Josh didn't just want a job," Harper said. "He's talented enough to get jobs all over the country. He wanted the UNLV job."
Hear more from Josh Pastner and Erick Harper at an introductory press conference on Wednesday:
“I first met him when he was at the University of Memphis with Coach Cal," said Darryl Whiten, a college coach and long-time friend of Pastner. "They couldn’t have hired a better person. This guy is high energy, high integrity, and he’s a player-first coach. He’s going to do great things at UNLV.”
Pastner vows to give everything he has to turn the UNLV program around after not making the NCAA Tournament since 2013.
“I’m not going to for one second think I can take a day off," Pastner said. "It’s going to be every waking moment of my life — how can we win championships, how can we get back to the NCAA Tournament, how can we build the program back to what everyone wants.”
Pastner will start hiring his staff before hitting the recruiting trail to build a new-look team.
The 2025-26 Runnin' Rebels will be without Dedan Thomas Jr. after the star point guard and son of UNLV great Dedan Thomas hit the transfer portal on Monday.
