New Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner will be O.K. being a staff of one for the time being. With the NCAA recruiting calendar permitting off-campus visits and player evaluations, there is reason for Tech to have a full complement of assistants on the road, but Pastner wants to make sure he doesn’t rush and make a hiring mistake. He said he’ll partner with athletic director Mike Bobinski on hires.
“I’ve learned that hiring is an art, hiring is a process,” Pastner said. “The last thing you can do is rush into it. So that’s what I want to do, is take my time and if I’m by myself for a little bit, it is what it is, and we’ll just deal with it and I’ll do the best I can until we get some guys in here.”
Tech’s three assistants under coach Brian Gregory – Tom Herrion, Mamadou N’Diaye and Chad Dollar – were all at the news conference. One of Pastner’s assistants, former Arizona star Damon Stoudamire, took the head-coaching job at Pacific. Another, Keelon Lawson, is the father of two of Memphis’ players. The third, Robert Kirby, has been with Pastner for the past three seasons.
Pastner said that there are competing priorities with assembling a staff, such as meeting with Tech’s three signees and learning more about his players.
“I’m going to need to get a great staff,” he said. “I’ve just got to find the time to interview and take the time to know who can really have the same vision and mission that I have for this job.”
Pastner said he is open to hiring anyone, including high-school coaches.
“Nobody’s out of the question,” he said.
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