Joe Pasternack Era begins for UCSB Basketball

Joe Pasternack says he will bring energy, competitiveness and passion to UCSB as the new head basketball coach of the Gauchos.

Pasternack, who turns 40 years old on April 15, was introduced at an afternoon press conference on the UCSB campus.

He comes to UCSB from the University of Arizona where he was the Associate Head Coach under Sean Miller.

Before Tuscon, Pasternack was the head coach at the University of New Orleans,

He is also familiar with the UC system as he was an assistant coach at Cal.

Pasternack has strong west coast recruiting ties and he has also been successful recruiting international players.

Pasternack believes UCSB is a “sleeping giant” and that he can quickly turn around a Gauchos program that hit rock bottom last year with a school-record 22 losses.

He takes over for Bob Williams who coached UCSB for 19 years and is the program’s all-time winningest coach.