UNLV Runnin' Rebels Head Coach Josh Pastner On The Transfer Portal: 'I Love That You're Not Wasting Time Anymore'

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team saw new head coach Josh Pastner take over the program this offseason after the team moved on from former head coach Kevin Kruger. Pastner had been working as an analyst on television, and a lot has changed since he was the coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Specifically in regards to the transfer portal and NIL deals. The new Rebels head coach talked about these topics with the UNLV official website before the start of the basketball season.

UNLV Runnin' Rebels Men's Head Basketball Coach On Having A Positive Outlook On Changes

“My thing is you can’t look at the glass as half-empty; you have to look at it as overflowing. What I mean by that is: This is the deal now. These are the rules we’re all playing by.

So from my viewpoint as coach, if you have any negative feelings, if you’re overly frustrated, if you’re going to complain about it, you’re just going to get left behind.”

Pastner On Whether Changes Have Made His Job More Difficult

"Are there challenges we didn’t have to deal with before? You’re darn right there are. Are there some frustrations? Of course. But I’m one who believes there are certain things about the new model that make college athletics better.

Just because student athletes are getting paid does not change the standards that we’re going to hold them to or how we’re going to coach them. Maybe our players — our roster — will change yearly. But our standards and our culture won’t change. And if you don’t want to be coached hard and held accountable, then this isn’t the place for you."

Pastner On Changes He Likes

"I love that you’re not wasting time anymore. And the great thing about the transfer portal is the players are older; they’re 20, 21, 22 and have experience being part of a college program. Not only do you have tape on them playing at the college level, but they understand how a college system works and what you have to do to be successful.

When you’re dealing with younger players — especially freshmen — they can get overwhelmed because everything is coming at them from different directions. When you recruit a player from the portal, they’ve been through all that. They understand about taking care of their bodies, about managing their time and how to juggle academics and basketball responsibilities."