MEN’S BASKETBALL
ROB
LANIER HEAD COACH
Georgia State named Tennessee Associate Head Coach Rob Lanier as the Panthers next men’s basketball head coach on April 5, 2019.
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n just his first season he led the Panthers to a 19-win year and postseason eligibility for a seventh-straight year. The 2019-20 season included a seven-game winning streak and winning the 2K Empire Classic Riverside Regional. He guided Kane Williams and Justin Roberts to All-Sun Belt Conference recognition and saw both of his seniors earn their college degrees. Lanier spent the last four seasons as associate head coach at Tennessee. The Volunteers finished the 2018-19 season 31-6, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The season included a win over the No. 1 team in the nation and a No. 1 national ranking for the Volunteers. In addition to boasting four years of Division I head coaching experience at Siena, the 50-year-old Lanier also has coached in the Big 12, SEC, ACC, Big East, Atlantic 10 and MAAC. He has worked on the bench for 11 teams that advanced to NCAA Tournament play. Immediately prior to his hiring at Tennessee in April 2015, Lanier served four seasons for Rick Barnes as the associate head coach at Texas from 2011-15. It was Lanier’s second stint on Barnes’ staff in Austin. Known for his prowess on the recruiting trail, Lanier played a key role in the assembly and development of Tennessee’s 2016-17 recruiting class, which was respon-
sible for 44 percent of the team’s scoring that season and finished the year as the highest-scoring crop of freshmen in program history (1,040 points). One member of that class, forward Grant Williams, went on to earn SEC Player of the Year honors as a true sophomore in 2018. Texas’ three-man recruiting class in 2014 featured McDonald’s All-American Myles Turner (No. 2 recruit by ESPN), No. 86-ranked prospect Jordan Barnett and transfer Shaquille Cleare, who was rated the No. 30 prospect nationally in 2012 by ESPN. Texas’ six-man freshman class in 2012 was ranked No. 4 nationally by ESPN and included McDonald’s All-American Cameron Ridley, while the Longhorn’s six-man freshman crop in 2011 was tabbed the No. 4 recruiting class in the country by ESPN and included McDonald’s All-American Myck Kabongo. In total, Lanier has played a role in signing nine McDonald’s All-Americans and 11 players that he either signed or coached have gone on to become NBA Draft Picks. Before returning to Texas, Lanier served as assistant coach under Billy Donovan at Florida for four seasons. In those four years, Lanier helped the Gators advance to postseason play every year while posting
a 99-44 (.692) cumulative record. Florida totaled 24 and 25 victories in 2007-08 and 2008-09, respectively. In 2009-10, the Gators went 21-13 and earned an NCAA Tournament berth. Florida then registered a 29-8 mark in 201011, won the SEC regular-season championship (13-3 record) and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. Lanier’s tenure at Florida was preceded by a two-year stint as an assistant coach on Dave Leitao’s coaching staff at Virginia. During his second year in Charlottesville (2006-07), the Cavaliers posted a 21-11 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite being picked to finish eighth in the conference, Virginia registered an 11-5 mark in league play and claimed a share of the ACC regular-season championship with North Carolina. It marked the first league title for the Cavaliers since 1994-95. Lanier spent four years as the head coach at Siena from 200105. During that span, the Saints advanced to one NCAA Tournament and one NIT. Siena won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Championship in 2002 and then defeated Alcorn State in an NCAA Tournament opening-round game before losing to eventual national champion Maryland in
