[9][10] To keep connected with Judaism, he carries a copy of Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski’s Growing Each Day with him and reads it on the road, saying: "It keeps you grounded.

[11] By the age of 13 he was publishing the Josh Pastner Scouting Report of local high school talent in the Houston area.

[12] At the age of 16, the Houston Hoops AAU summer squad was turned over to Pastner by his father, his first job as a head coach.

He married Kerri (née Lamas) in 2009, and has a stepson, Ethan, three daughters, Payten, Kamryn, Harper, and one son, Cason and one sister, Courtney, and one brother, Austin.

[14] He finished his master's degree in Teaching and Teacher Education in December 1999, and then began work on his doctorate and started his coaching career in 2000 as a graduate-assistant under Lute Olson at Arizona.

[15][17] On April 6, 2009, at 31 years of age, Pastner was selected to be head coach of the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team, succeeding John Calipari.

[23] After starting his career 0–13 against ranked teams, Pastner coached the Tigers to a 73–68 victory over #5 Oklahoma State on December 1, 2013.

[24] On March 21, 2013, the Tigers defeated Saint Mary's 54–52, giving Pastner his first NCAA tournament victory as a head coach.

[25] On the heels of his first NCAA victory and the signing of a top-five recruiting class for 2013, Pastner's contract was extended through 2019–20 and his pay raised to $2.65 million per year.

"[29] The 2013–14 Tigers entered the season ranked #13 in the country, though the team ultimately earned an 8-seed in the NCAA tournament and lost by 18 points in the Round of 32 to Virginia.

[14] During the 2016–17 regular season, Pastner's Jackets knocked off Top 5 North Carolina at home, in his first coached ACC game at Georgia Tech.

The Jackets also enjoyed quality wins at Virginia Commonwealth, at home against top-10 Florida State, and top-25 Notre Dame.

A victory over Ole Miss put Georgia Tech in the NIT Final Four, where they defeated the #8 seed CSU Bakersfield.

Georgia Tech played Texas Christian University (TCU) in the NIT Championship Game, but lost 88–56.

Ron Bell and Jennifer Pendley were later arrested, charged, and pleaded guilty of federal felony crimes for extortion thru the United States Department of Justice, due to the made up false accusation of sexual assault on Pastner.

Pastner and his 2021 squad won the ACC Tournament, first time since 1993, as they beat #15 Florida State in the Championship game.