October 7, 2026 - 5:14 pm

Josh Pastner talks about chemistry, cohesiveness, togetherness.

Critical pieces to building a basketball program.

He will try to do so again this season at UNLV, his second as coach of the Runnin’ Rebels.

It has become almost tradition now across the country in this world of NIL and a transfer portal, teams having to rebuild annually with new faces. UNLV is no different.

“I think one of the ways you (build chemistry) is you have to be up front with everything,” Pastner said. “You have to tell it like it is and be brutally honest and extremely transparent. You have to nip things in the bud and have great character guys and good people.

“I get it. Nobody has been subbed (out) yet. Everybody is playing. We haven’t hit any rough patches. That’s where the chemistry part comes in.”

He says there are different things you can do to build that needed chemistry. That you can begin by understanding each other as human beings and to know each other, not just on the court. That things do happen organically by playing together.

The more you do that, the more it builds.

Pastner was talking from Mountain West media days on Wednesday at The Palms, where UNLV was picked fourth in a preseason poll of 10 teams.

New Mexico was predicted to win the conference, followed by Grand Canyon and UNR.

“I love the league,” Pastner said. “We have three new teams with UTEP, UC Davis and Hawaii — all tough places to play. We have to be at a high level. There are a lot of good coaches and a lot of good players and great homecourt advantages.

“That’s where we have to get the Thomas & Mack Center back to. We have to do our part. I get it. But it’s an important part for us in the Mountain West Conference. We need the Thomas & Mack to be packed. We need the students there. We need people there. We have to win and play an exciting brand of basketball and people will show up.”

He had players show up on the preseason all-conference team — sophomore forward Tyrin Jones and senior guard AJ Storr.

The latter is a Mississippi transfer who remains ineligible after a court ruling out of Tennessee in August. Storr was one of 19 individual plaintiffs affected by the ruling.

Also on Wednesday, UNLV forward Jackson Kiss was named the league’s preseason Freshman of the Year.

A product of Auckland, New Zealand, he averaged 9.4 points, six rebounds and four assists in 14 games during the Nike EYBL Scholastic League.

“Look, there are a lot of good freshmen in this league,” Pastner said. “Those preseason things are what they are — it’s nice for some publicity and accolades. But it’s what you do in the postseason that counts the most.

“I think Jackson is going to be really good. I think Jackson really knows the game. I think he’ll be similar to Tyrin. Totally different players, different athleticism. But he is going to have that trajectory, where there are going to be some highs and lows in November and December. As we get to January, he’s really going to start taking off.”

New Mexico also seems on a trajectory given what the preseason media poll bore out. The Lobos received nine first-place votes and a total of 179 points, one more than Grand Canyon.

UNLV received 125 points.

What a stat: Of all the new-look Mountain West teams, the Lobos last year only lost to UNR.

The rest of their conference defeats came against teams now in the Pac-12.

“I didn’t know that,” New Mexico coach Eric Olen said. “That’s a good one. I’m not surprised at being (picked first) because we have good players coming back and people feel optimistic about our team. But every team is different. Every season is different. I don’t put a whole lot of stock in preseason stuff because it gets settled on the court.

“Nice for our team to be recognized. I don’t worry about any complacency from those expectations. Our guys have high enough expectations for themselves, no matter where you pick them. First, last, in between.”

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.