When Josh Pastner took over as head coach of the University of Memphis basketball program, he had no easy task ahead of him.

The young coach, just 31-years-old at the time, took the reigns of one of the hottest programs in the country. His predecessor, John Calipari, had taken the program to new heights. The Tigers had not only been to two elite eights, a national title trip and a sweet sixteen over the previous four years, but Calipari and Memphis set an NCAA record, winning 137 games over that time span from 2006 to 2009, during which Pastner served as one of Calipari's assistant coaches during the 2008-09 season.

As Pastner stepped into his new role as head coach in 2009, the Tigers' roster did not have the same caliber of player as it had during Calipari's run. That did not matter though to Memphis fans. The same high expectations were shifted to the first time head coach.

"The fans are extremely emotionally invested in their program," Pastner explains. "That makes the job a very intense one with lots of scrutiny."

Throughout Pastner's first six years in Memphis he has posted a 148-58 record, winning about 72 percent of the games in his time as head coach. Pastner led the Tigers to four straight NCAA tournament births from 2011-14, only the third time in school history to make it to the NCAA tournament four consecutive years. He also won two Conference USA regular season titles (2012, 2013), as well as three Conference USA tournament championships (2011, 2012 and 2013).

Head coaching isn't the only level Pastner has had success though. He was a member of the national title-winning Arizona Wildcats squad in 1997. Though he did not play often in his role as a walk-on, Pastner got the opportunity to learn from hall of fame coach Lute Olsen. In 2000, Pastner continued to hone his skills under his former coach by becoming an assistant coach at his alma mater. With Pastner on staff, Olsen led the Wildcats to another championship game in 2001, in which they fell to the Duke Blue Devils.

Though Pastner has had much success with Memphis, the pressure is always on. Pastner has only won two NCAA tournament games in his time at Memphis, which has brought plenty of criticism from the fan base. On top of that, Memphis struggled during the 2014-15 season, posting an 18-14 record and did not reach the postseason for the first time since 2000. Pastner's criticism reached a new high with some of the fan base even questioning his return after the season.

Pastner explains how it is a high-pressure job and it can be tough when you lose.

"You are on 24/7, and it is no fun when you do not win," he says.

The city of Memphis and the fan base have very high expectations -sometimes even to a ridiculous extent-that stem from a very rich basketball history. The Memphis basketball program had been a very high caliber program, well before Calipari returned it to national prominence. Since 1973, the Tigers have been to three Final Fours, including two trips to the national title, as well as five additional Sweet Sixteen appearances and three other elite eight appearances. In 2012, ESPN rated Memphis as the no. 19 most successful program over the last 50 years. So Memphis fan's expectations are not necessarily unwarranted.

Though these expectations add tons of pressure for Pastner, he says the love and intensity for basketball in Memphis not only helps the program, but also supplies it with one of the best fan bases in the country.

"We have some of the best fans in the world and one of the great fan bases," he says. "It only gets stronger and stronger every year."

Memphis is often considered one of the best basketball cities in the country. Memphians love basketball at all levels, not just the Tigers. Pastner believes this makes the fan base even stronger and explains how basketball brings the city together.

"Memphis loves basketball," he says. "It is a hotbed for basketball. People love hoops here from middle school all the way up to the pro level. Basketball unites the city in many, many ways and has brought the community together for a very long time."

One reason basketball has been so important to the city is because Memphis has always produced an immense amount of basketball talent. Almost every year there are prospects from local high schools rated as some of the top recruits in America. In 2013, Bleacher Report ranked Memphis as the third best city in the country for producing basketball talent.

Playing for the hometown team has been part of the basketball culture in Memphis as well for decades, whether it is Memphis legends Larry Finch, Keith Lee (from West Memphis, Arkansas) Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway or current Tigers Austin Nichols and Markel Crawford.

Like many of his predecessors, Pastner has done an impressive job of bringing that local talent to the program. In fact, recruiting is often considered Pastner's biggest skill, bringing in three different recruiting classes (2010, 2013 and 2015) ranked in the top 20 by ESPN throughout his time at Memphis.

Pastner's 2015 recruiting class is not only highly rated, but three local prospects headline the class as well. Brothers K.J. (no. 44 in ESPN's class of 2015) and Dedric (no. 26 in ESPN's class of 2015) Lawson, stars at Hamilton High School in Memphis, lead the way as the Tigers' highest rated signees. Jeremiah Martin of Mitchell High in Memphis also committed to play for Pastner and the Tigers. Though Martin is listed as only a three-star prospect, he led Mitchell to two straight state titles and was named Mr. Basketball for the state of Tennessee this season.

Keeping the culture strong is a big factor that plays into Memphis recruiting. When local legends, such as Hardaway return to Memphis after their NBA career, it helps keep the culture alive. Hardaway has become a huge figure in the community and coaches his own AAU team, Team Penny. Pastner says Hardaway has been such a great figure in the community and Pastner is glad he returned to Memphis.

"Having Penny around the community is so important and a true blessing," he says.

Hardaway is not the only one, though. Lee is now head coach of Raleigh Egypt High School in Memphis. Andre "Little General" Turner, a native Memphian who played for the Tigers from 1982-86, took a similar route as Lee. Turner, who is considered one of the best guards in program history, played several years in the NBA and Europe. Now Turner is head coach of his former school, Mitchell High in Memphis.

The Memphis Grizzlies have also become a huge contributing factor to the basketball culture in Memphis. Over the last 14 years, the Grizzlies have become more and more popular throughout the city, only building the love for basketball even greater. Pastner explains that he does not believe the Grizzlies take away from the Tigers' program at all. He actually believes the complete opposite, claiming that it is not only great for their program, but it also helps in recruiting.

"Having the Grizzlies is so great for us and so great for the community," he says. "It helps out so much, especially in recruiting. We understand fans have the choice with the Grizz and Tigers, but we feel there is enough room for fans to love and cheer for both."

Throughout the last six years Pastner has been through the ups and downs of coaching in one of the craziest basketball markets in the country, but without a doubt he will always say that the intensity, passion and love for basketball in Memphis-no matter how much pressure that comes along with it-makes Memphis a special town in the basketball world.