He’s already a winner

Josh Pastner is a Memphis legend in the making, and it’s happening right before our eyes.

When he first accepted the University of Memphis men’s basketball coaching job in 2009, my father-in-law sent him a letter, wishing him well and advising him to stay true to his values. To our surprise, within a couple of weeks, Pastner called my father-in-law and spoke with him for 10 or 15 minutes, thanking him for his thoughts. As a new coach, he must have had a million things to do, but he found the time to reach out to a loyal fan. We marveled at such a thoughtful gesture.

I saw Pastner in a local restaurant the other night and shook his hand (he was in a take-out line, so I didn’t interrupt his dinner). I told him I was very grateful for that time years ago when he called my father-in-law to thank him for his letter.

Most coaches or public figures would have uttered a canned response like “we couldn’t do it without our loyal fans.” Not Pastner. He thanked me and asked, “How’s he doing?” My father-in-law is struggling with some health issues, and I told Coach that he’s getting along. Pastner said, “Well, tell him that I said hello.”

I can’t imagine Pastner remembers that letter or phone call from 2009, but he certainly gave me that impression. I know for sure that the handshake and the look in his eyes were a genuine reaction from a real man.

We couldn’t ask for a better person to coach our Memphis students and teach them life’s lessons. I wish him all the best and congratulate him on his success.