Fansided

10 college basketball coaches on the hottest seats entering 2018-2019

By Brad Berreman

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins during the game against the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Pauley Pavilion on November 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins during the game against the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Pauley Pavilion on November 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images /

9. Josh Pastner, Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets won 21 games and made the NIT final in Pastner’s first season, then fell to 13-19 last year. He’s already trying to keep expectations reasonable heading into his third season at Georgia Tech, calling 2018-19 a “bridge year” for the program, after losing talent and experience (Josh Okogie, Ben Lammers and Tadric Jackson) from last year’s roster.

Leaning on young players are a reality in college basketball, as the best play one or maybe two years, and it’s reasonable to stay Georgia Tech will have trouble making serious headway in a deep ACC. So an eye on the future is fine, even for a program that hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2010, and Pastner has to sell the idea of a core group staying together multiple years like ACC rivals Virginia and Notre Dame have done with success.

"I’ve said it all along — it’s really going to be to get old and stay old,” “That’s our No. 1 thing. That’s going to happen when we get to year four. That’s next year because the nucleus of our team is all going to be back next season. And then in year five that core group will still be back that following year."

After leading Memphis to at least 24 wins in each of his first five seasons, with four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, Pastner has less than 20 wins in three of his last four seasons as a coach.

Pastner’s status as something of a wonder-kid (41 years old) is fading, with weak recruiting classes at Georgia Tech and the specter of a sexual assault allegation (that he was cleared from by a Title IX investigation) to diminish him. Simply eliminating bad losses like last year’s to Wofford, Grambling State and Wright State would bring a push back toward  .500 this year, but Pastner may need a little more than that to secure his job beyond the end of the season.