Newly-hired basketball assistant Joe Pasternack was introduced to the media this week and while I'm stuck in New York for the summer (OK, it's not so bad aside from the hemorrhaging of my bank account), Arizona Daily Star reporter Bruce Pascoe wrote a nice introductory piece on head coach Sean Miller's replacement for his brother, Archie.
Just from watching the video, it appears Pasternack is quite the different personality as was Archie Miller. Sean's little brother was the bulldog on the court and the locker room, the guy who was there to keep players in check. It was all serious, no-nonsense, even in his interviews.
And it'll be interesting to learn how Pasternack fits in with Book Richardson, whose role has been the "keep your head up" type of coach.
But that's for later. Getting to know the new assistant coach is what we'll look at for the time being. The former University of New Orleans head coach has a good feel for Arizona's hoops culture and complimented the in-place staff and its job in molding the current players. Here's what he had to say to the Star:
"I think Sean (Miller, head coach) is just a terrific leader. He's put together a staff where every single person is working on one common goal every single day. No egos. It's a team ego, and that's a credit to Coach Miller finding these people. It's hard to find good people. You have to have players to be successful, but it starts with our staff, and that's probably the biggest thing I've been impressed with."
Furthermore, Pasternack was previously a member of coach Ben Braun's staff at California. He spent eight years with the Golden Bears and of course, played the Wildcats twice a year. An even bigger connection to Arizona is his wife, Lindsay, who is a UA alum.
"It's going to be great," Pasternack told the Star. "My wife was here for the (1997) national championship. Those were interesting times on game day when we played Arizona to see who she was rooting for."
Now his job is to pick up where Archie Miller left off. A large part of that role includes recruiting the West Coast and Southern California, a hotbed for recruits and a highly-imperative piece to the Wildcats' recent success stories. Just look at the Chase Budingers, Derrick Williams, Kyle Foggs and Solomon Hills. Going back further, it was the Miles Hassan Adams and Miles Simons that came from the SoCal area.
"I've kept up very strong relationships with people out West," Pasternack told the Star. "When I was in New Orleans, I recruited and kept up those relationships. It's been nice for me to hit the ground running with those relationships."