Josh Pastner UA assistant hoops coach

In his second of a series of postseason interviews this spring, Arizona men's basketball assistant coach Josh Pastner sat down with the Wildcat to discuss staying in shape, fighting freshmen in the boxing ring and age limits in the NBA.

Wildcat: All of the assistant coaches at Arizona have their own workout programs, and you got into boxing to stay in shape. How did you get started?

Pastner: I love exercising, and I figured I wanted something to challenge me. I have an unbelievable respect for boxers and the mental and physical condition it takes. To be at such a high level at the defensive and offensive end is amazing. The conditioning is absolutely terrific. I've gotten in the ring and sparred. It's a great way to learn how to fight. I'm not trying to go fight, but you learn the proper way, and you learn a new sport. It's something new.

Wildcat: Can the things you learn in boxing transfer to the basketball court?

Pastner: Absolutely. It takes mental and physical condition. You have to be disciplined, and you have to be hungry. You can't have any slippage, and that's why the two are so similar.

Wildcat: Who wins in a boxing match between you and freshman guard Jesus Verdejo (a Golden Gloves fighter who has been boxing since he was 4 years old)?

Pastner: I'm going to have to go with me. Jesus was a golden gloves guy growing up but he hasn't done it for a while.

Wildcat: So you're pretty confident you can beat him?

Pastner: I'm pretty confident I can take Jesus in the ring, but he's a pretty tough kid. I sure wouldn't want to mess with him if I didn't have to. I don't plan on fighting him in the ring anytime soon.

Wildcat: What is the starting line up going to look like next year?

Pastner: It's too early to determine that. There's a lot of time to fight for spots.

Wildcat: If you had to choose a starting lineup from the last 10 years in Arizona history, what would it be?

Pastner: I'm going to go with the politically correct answer on this. There's too many great players with Salim (Stoudamire), Channing (Frye), (Mike) Bibby, (Jason) Terry, (Michael) Dickerson, (Miles) Simon, (Jason) Gardner, (Gilbert) Arenas, (Richard) Jefferson. How do you rank them? It's impossible to do. You would need a list of 30.

Wildcat: What's your opinion on the 20-year-old age limit for the NBA?

Pastner: I think it would be great for the NBA and bad for college basketball. It's a great era for college basketball. The purity in the game is unbelievable, and I think it's the best the game has ever been. I think the excitement is there because anyone can beat anyone. But the NBA needs (the age limit) to pick up their level of game. When the best high school players start going back to college, you're going to see dominant programs and not as much purity, which makes it so fun right now.