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While the ever-ebullient former Arizona player and assistant coach deployed his salesmanship skills in building a new roster over the past few months, he also had to sell a city already drenched in entertainment.

鈥淓verywhere, I鈥檝e gone, I鈥檝e given out my business card 鈥� people I meet on the planes, people I see at the gym, 鈥楬ey, buy UNLV tickets. We need you to buy tickets,鈥欌�� Pastner said. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to be as hands on as I can be to get people back in the Thomas & Mack.鈥�

UNLV鈥檚 arena hardly fills up as it did back when UNLV鈥檚 Jerry Tarkanian and Arizona鈥檚 Lute Olson built one of the West鈥檚 top rivalries in the 1980s, nor from when the Rebels won the 1990 NCAA title until Tarkanian was forced out in 1992.

鈥淚t was a spectacle. It was showtime, like with the Lakers,鈥� Pastner says. 鈥淧art of the reason the city is what it is today is because of that 鈥�80s and 鈥�90s run.

鈥淐oach Olson and coach Tarkanian, they had the two juggernauts on the West Coast for so long. What coach Olson did for the city of 大象APPand the University of Arizona is what coach Tarkanian and his staff and players did to UNLV and the city of Las Vegas.鈥�

Tarkanian鈥檚 Rebels packed the Thomas & Mack not only because they were dominant but also because, as Pastner noted, UNLV basketball and boxing were really the only sports in town back then. Now there鈥檚 also Golden Knights hockey, Raiders football, Aces WNBA basketball, NBA summer leagues, Team USA exhibitions, MMA and, soon, Athletics baseball.

Maybe even more.

鈥淚 do believe they鈥檒l get an NBA team,鈥� Pastner said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an awesome thing. Yes, there鈥檚 more things to do, but Las Vegas is becoming the epicenter of not just the entertainment world, but also the sports world.鈥�

While watching a game in the Section 7 high school showcase last month in Mesa, Pastner discussed the whirlwind that has been his life since UNLV hired him on March 25.

While he has been a head coach at Memphis (2010-16) and Georgia Tech (2016-2023), Pastner said the transition was different this time because of the landscape in today鈥檚 college basketball.

鈥淲hen I took over Memphis and Georgia Tech, you already kind of had your team. It wasn鈥檛 (about) the portal at those times. You really didn鈥檛 go fundraise. You had to go out and see the different high school coaches, AAU coaches.

鈥淚 had to get a whole new team (at UNLV). I didn鈥檛 go around seeing high school guys and high school coaches. I had to go around my first couple weeks on the job and raise money. In the past, you kind of had a fundraising area within the athletic department. Now, the head coach probably is more of a fundraiser than actually a coach, but that鈥檚 the reality of where the world is right now in college athletics.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really hard to like this new model if you don鈥檛 like dealing with people. There鈥檚 a lot of things I鈥檓 not good at, but one of them I鈥檓 good at is dealing with people. I like human beings.鈥�

One of the new players Pastner pulled in is sophomore center Emmanuel Stephen, who transferred from Arizona after playing in only eight games for the Wildcats last season.

鈥淚 think he鈥檚 going to be really good for us and I thought Arizona did a good job developing him. Really good personality. He鈥檚 got a great heart. Cares about people. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. We鈥檙e really, really excited about him.鈥�

At the same time as Pastner built his new roster, the House settlement neared completion, allowing colleges to pay athletes directly while an auditor will vet outside NIL collective deals 鈥� although there are lawsuits being filed in some states challenging whether NIL income can be capped at all.

鈥淚t鈥檚 still in the early process. The question becomes if somebody gets denied on one of those (NIL deals), do they sue? I鈥檓 not a legal expert on that. I don鈥檛 know. But could that hold up in a court of law, (with somebody) saying you can鈥檛 deny me, if somebody鈥檚 born in the United States of America?鈥�

On the court, things also look drastically different than even two years ago when Pastner last coached, especially for a guy who played and coached under Olson in the Pac-10.

鈥淚t鈥檚 weird to even to say there鈥檚 a new Pac coming around. I look at the Pac-10 as when there was Arizona, UCLA, USC, up and down the coast. What鈥檚 interesting is (conference) records 鈥� like how does that work? It鈥檚 just not the same, but that鈥檚 because I was there for so long. That all being said, college sports is evolving and ever changing, literally, in real time. So who knows? Could Arizona be back in the Pac at one time, or could UNLV go to the Big 12? Could Arizona be in the ACC? Stanford and Cal鈥檚 in the ACC. I mean ...鈥�

Fired by Georgia Tech in March 2023, Pastner left the ACC just months before it agreed to include the Bay area schools starting last season, but had a unique vantage point to watch all the changes: He spent the past two seasons as a television analyst, working Peacock studio shows for Big Ten games, as well as covering games on site for ESPN and CBS Sports Network.

鈥淭he nice thing about being in TV is you have a great opportunity to really study the game, study different programs, go to practices and shoot arounds, talk to coaches. When you鈥檙e competing against them, they aren鈥檛 going to let you behind the scenes.

鈥淚 could see what things I did well in my first 14 years as a head coach, and some other things where I thought 鈥榃e鈥檝e got to get better at this area or that area.鈥� It really gave me a chance, from a 30,000-foot perspective, without the pressure of winning and losing, to really get better as a coach. You didn鈥檛 have to make a decision on, 鈥楬ow are you going to guard this ball screen? What are you going to do on this back screen? What are you going to do in this out of bounds play?鈥�

鈥淚 loved TV. Absolutely loved it. I had some other (coaching) opportunities, but I didn鈥檛 feel they were better than television, and the opportunities that I had in television are hard to get. But when the UNLV job opened, to me, it was an awesome opportunity. It was incredible, because it鈥檚 a massive job. The tradition of UNLV is awesome. It鈥檚 a sleeping giant. I really believe that maybe the trees just need to be shaken a little bit to kind of wake it back up.鈥�

So Pastner is shaking the trees, and he鈥檚 courting fans pretty much everywhere. Including those living on Olson鈥檚 old turf.

He won鈥檛 stop.

“Even if you’re in Tucson, get your tickets at and then email me at joshua.pastner@unlv.edu. That’s my email. Even if you don’t want to use the tickets, please buy tickets and then I will give them to different groups in the community to come to the games.

鈥淚鈥檓 wearing multiple hats. Yes, I do my own email.鈥�