Georgia Tech men’s basketball head coach Josh Pastner has signed a one-year contract extension to remain with the Yellow Jackets through the 2022-23 season, Georgia Tech athletics announced on Wednesday.
Pastner agreed to a six-year contract when he was named Georgia Tech’s 14th men’s basketball head coach on April 8, 2016. With the extension, six years remain on his deal.
The extension comes on the heels of Pastner and the Yellow Jackets defying all expectations in his first season at the helm. Picked to finish 14th out of 15 teams in the preseason Atlantic Coast Conference poll, Georgia Tech won 21 games in 2016-17, including three victories over top-15 teams, and advanced to the final of the National Invitation Tournament.
In a conference that featured four Hall of Fame coaches, Pastner was named the 2016-17 ACC Coach of the Year, becoming only the third Georgia Tech coach to ever claim the honor, and was also tabbed as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 2 Coach of the Year. Additionally, he was honored as the “Most Positive College Coach” in Georgia by Positive Athlete Georgia, an organization that promotes the benefits of positivity among young athletes.
“Coach Pastner’s accomplishments on the floor in his first season on The Flats speak for themselves but what makes him such a great fit at Georgia Tech is the culture that he has established for our men’s basketball program,” director of athletics Todd Stansbury said. “His energy, his positivity and his commitment to do things the right way are all attributes that not only lead to success on the court but also set our student-athletes up for success after graduation, and are a source of pride for our alumni, students and fans.”
In eight seasons as a head coach, including seven years at the helm at Memphis (2009-16), Pastner has compiled a 188-89 overall record (.679) and led his teams to eight winning seasons and six postseason appearances.
Despite his young age (he turned 40 on Sept. 26), Pastner has been a part of NCAA Division I college basketball for 20 years as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach. Prior to becoming head coach at Memphis in 2009, he was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Arizona (2002-08), and Memphis (2008-09).
He was a four-year letterwinner as a student-athlete under head coach Lute Olson at Arizona (1996-2000). Pastner earned a bachelor’s degree in family studies in just two-and-a-half years (graduating in December 1998) and needed only a year to receive a master’s degree in teaching and teaching education (December 1999).
“I love Georgia Tech and the time I’ve spent here,” Pastner said. “The success we had last year was a direct result of my staff and the unbelievable job they did, the players who bought in and performed so well, and the fans who gave us the home-court advantage we needed to win 17 games at McCamish Pavilion. I’m grateful to [Georgia Tech] President [G.P. “Bud”] Peterson and Todd Stansbury for the tremendous support we have, and for seeing the big picture and where we want to go as a program.”
Looking to build on last year’s success and with its top three scorers all returning, Pastner and the Yellow Jackets host 19 games at McCamish Pavilion in 2017-18, beginning with an exhibition game versus Faulkner on Nov. 2 and the regular-season opener against Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 19. The home slate also includes marquee non-conference matchups versus Northwestern (Nov. 28) and Tennessee (Dec. 3), and ACC showdowns against Notre Dame (Jan. 10), Virginia (Jan. 18), Syracuse (Jan. 31) and Duke (Feb. 11).
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