Arizona basketball head coach Sean Miller announced Thursday that the Wildcats have hired Joe Pasternack to fill their assistant coaching vacancy.

Pasternack, 34, spent the last four years as the head coach at the University of New Orleans, which has begun the process of moving to NCAA Division II in time for the 2012-13 season. Prior to his time at UNO, Pasternack spent eight seasons as an administrator and coach at the University of California. 

“”I am really excited to be a part of an elite program and to join the coaching staff at Arizona,”” Pasternack said in a statement. “”Sean Miller is one of the top coaches in the country and I look forward to helping him, the staff and the players.””

During the 2007-08 season, Pasternack coached New Orleans to 19 wins, its highest total since 1997. Under Pasternack, New Orleans defeated then-No. 21 North Carolina State for the school’s first victory over a nationally-ranked team since 1993.  

“”We are excited to have Joe and his family join our program,”” Miller said in a release. “”He has a wealth of experience in many areas that will serve us well moving forward.. To be able to get someone on our staff with head coaching experience and who has recruited extensively in the West is a tremendous benefit to us.””

At California, Pasternack was involved in recruiting the Golden Bears’ recruiting efforts, and was instrumental in the recruiting of former guard Jerome Randle. Pasternack also secured one of the Sun Belt Conference’s top-ranked recruiting classes following the 2007-08 season, bringing in 11 newcomers.

A New Orleans native and 1999 graduate from Indiana University, where he spent four years as a manager under coach Bob Knight, Pasternack has been a part of eight NCAA Tournament teams. 

The coaching vacancy opened when Archie Miller was hired as the head basketball coach at the University of Dayton on April 3.