blank  Josh Pastner Position: Assistant Coach, second year at Arizona

Pastner, who has been with the program as a player and administrator since 1996, continues to be a key cog in the Wildcats' recruiting efforts and work with the program's big men.

His dedication to the program can be seen in the outstanding play of Arizona's front line. Former Wildcat All-American Luke Walton flourished under Pastner's tuteledge, while current all-Pac-10 standout Channing Frye continues to show the progress that lists him among several preseason All-America teams.

During the 2001 02 season, Pastner served as the team's video and recruiting coordinator, as well as an administrative assistant. In this role, he oversaw the team's video room and assisted in film editing, as designated by the coaching staff. Pastner coordinated all recruiting mailings and assisted the coaching staff with interoffice academic concerns. He filled the coaching vacancy left when former assistant Jay John left to become the head coach at Oregon State. The newest member of the Wildcat coaching staff assumed his full-time responsibilities on April 10, 2002.

Pastner, 25, made the step up from the playing ranks to the coaching world in June 2000 when he was named an undergraduate assistant coach for Arizona. Pastner, who played for UA from 1996 2000, had similar duties as the three assistant coaches, but could no go on the road to recruit.

"Josh has been intimately involved with this program for six years," said Olson. "One of his goals was to be a full time assistant here at the University of Arizona and his persistence has paid off. We feel that Josh is an excellent addition to the staff and his tireless efforts will benefit the program for years to come."

The Kingwood, Texas, native played in 42 games as a Wildcat and finished his career with an average of 0.9 ppg. The Wildcats were 42 0 in the games in which he appeared.

Pastner received his undergraduate degree in two and a half years, and his master's degree the following year, and started work on his doctorate. In his role as an undergraduate assistant in 2000-01, Pastner began pursuit of another undergraduate degree.

Despite his lack of playing time, Pastner's presence in the program has been invaluable since he arrived in 1996. He did many of the small behind the scenes things that helped the team win an NCAA Championship and two Pac 10 titles during his career. Pastner helped break down game tapes and scout opponents, and he was the shot specialist for many of the Wildcat players. In his seven years with the program, Arizona has a 184 50 (.786) record.

While a high school and college athlete, Pastner began his career as a coach on the AAU circuit. He led the Houston Hoops, a select all-star team from that area, to the 1999 Nike National Summer Championship in San Diego. Pastner also led the Houston Hoops to the Global World Championship in the summer of 2000.

Pastner earned his bachelor's degree in family studies from Arizona in December 1998, 2½ years after enrolling, the fastest an Arizona student athlete has ever earned a degree. He finished his master's in teaching and teacher education in December 1999 before beginning work on his doctorate.

Despite taking as many as 33 units a semester while at Arizona, Pastner maintained a high grade point average, was nominated for the CoSIDA/GTE Academic All America team and was named to the Academic All Pac 10 Second Team as a senior in 2000.