Memphis Boasts Young Jewish Basketball Coach
NYT profiles ‘climber with a conscience’ Josh Pastner
December 16, 2009
Josh Pastner, head coach of the Memphis Tigers.(NYT)
Today, the New York Times introduces 32-year-old Josh Pastner, the first-year head coach of the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. Pastner is the rare case of the college basketball player—he was on the Arizona Wildcats in the late 1990s, when they won the national championship—who wanted to be a coach all along (his father was also a basketball coach). And, though the Times article doesn’t mention this, Pastner is Jewish. Memphis has of late been the NCAA’s winningest program, and this year it is off to a 7-1 start.
Josh Pastner Has Memphis Sailing in Calipari’s Wake [NYT]
Pastner’s Passion is Hoops [Jewish News of Greater Phoenix]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
