Could Memphis coach Josh Pastner leave the Tigers?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or have been on an extended spring break you’ve most likely heard that Josh Pastner could be targeted by the Arizona State Sun Devils as for their now vacant head coaching position after firing former coach Herb Sendek on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Andy Katz.
Though there may be some Memphis fans that would be thrilled to see Pastner leave; his departure is far from a guarantee to a return to the “good ole days.” Fair or not, Pastner was always going to be compared to his predecessor former coach John Calipari.
Calipari in his nine seasons at the helm, led the Tigers to three Elite Eight appearances, one them being a run to the national championship game in 2008 before falling to the Kansas Jayhawks in overtime.
So after Pastner, his assistant at the time, replaced Calipari in 2009 when he went to Kentucky Pastner was expected to continue Calipari’s success, and Memphis basketball would not miss a beat.
In his first season, Pastner was dealing essentially with Calipari’s leftovers, because Memphis’ 2010 recruiting class all followed Calipari to Kentucky, which included five first round picks including future NBA All-Stars DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall. Unsurprisingly, Memphis failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, finishing 24-10 and bowed out of the NIT in the second round.
Pastner then led the Tigers to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances losing in the opening round in 2011 and 2012 to Arizona and Saint Louis, respectively. Though in 2013 and 2014 Pastner would only take them a round further before Memphis fell to Michigan State and Virginia.
Through that time one of the biggest knocks against Pastner until 2014 was his inability to get wins against top-25 opposition. Until a victory against then no.5 Oklahoma State in the 2013-14 season, the Tigers were 0-13 against top-25 teams during Pastner’s reign.
That victory would be the first of five wins against top-25 opposition in the 2014 season, including an impressive sweep of the defending national champion and longtime rival Louisville Cardinals. It looked as if Pastner and the Tigers had smashed any psychological barriers they may have had when it came to matching up with the best college basketball had to offer.
Though any momentum built off that was shutdown when Memphis lost in the round of 32 to Virginia. The Tigers also had the four senior guards: Joe Jackson, Michael Dixon Jr., Geron Johnson and Chris Crawford. It felt as if Pastner couldn't make it to the Sweet 16 with this team, when would he.
The answer to that question was never going to be this season. Bringing eight new faces, and combining that with an inexperienced backcourt meant there would be no dancing for the Tigers since Pastner’s first season in charge. Even if sophomore forward Austin Nichols huffed and puffed as much as he could on offense and defense to change that for Memphis.
Now the fan base seems to be at a crossroads with Pastner. Is this good enough at Memphis in regards to making the tournament consistently or should more be expected from Pastner similar to the Calipari era?
If Pastner leaves to go to Arizona State the answer to this questions is irrelevant. However, I believe Pastner will stay at least one more season he is bringing a top recruiting class including the Lawson brothers, but if they weren’t to make the NCAA Tournament next season the hot seat may be a little too warm even for Pastner.
But what if Pastner and the Tigers make the tournament and the Tigers fall in round of 64 or 32 what then? He probably stays, but the fan base probably remains divided on whether or not he’s the guy to lead Memphis going forward.
However, if Pastner is let go the next coach will not only be compared to Pastner but to Calipari as well.
Maybe the outlier is the Calipari era and not the Pastner era. Maybe the problem is Pastner succeeded Calipari and not the other way around.
However, if Pastner leaves this offseason or next then maybe the “good ole days” will be further away than ever.
Memphis coach Josh Pastner shows emotion during the Memphis vs. Temple game on Feb. 7. The Tigers would lose 62-61 on a game winner from Temple’s Josh Brown. Photo by David Minkin.
