Craig Robinson Named Head Men's Basketball Coach
Former two-time Ivy League Player of the Year Craig Robinson announced as the 29th head coach in Brown basketball history
Craig Robinson was named the 29th head coach in Brown basketball history.
June 15, 2006
Providence, RI - Craig Robinson, a five-year assistant coach at Northwestern and a former two-time Ivy League Player of the Year, has been named the 29th head coach in Brown University's 100-year basketball history in an announcement made by Brown Director of Athletics Michael Goldberger. Robinson succeeds Glen Miller, who took a similar position at Penn.
"I am extremely happy to be given the opportunity to help Brown University win an Ivy League Championship," said Robinson. "I'd like to get started yesterday. I'm looking forward to working at Brown and to meeting my team as soon as possible."
"We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring to Brown an exceptional individual in Craig Robinson," said Goldberger. "Craig has all the tools to be successful at the Division I level - leadership, character, and coaching ability. As a former Ivy League athlete, Craig knows what it takes to compete at an Ivy League institution, both academically and athletically. I also want to thank the search committee for all its hard work in vetting through the wonderful candidates who applied for the position, and enabling Brown to hire a tremendous coach and person."
Robinson comes to Brown from Northwestern University where he spent the last five seasons with the Wildcats under head coach Bill Carmody, the former head coach at Princeton. Robinson's relationship with Carmody dates to the 1982-83 basketball season when Robinson, a senior captain, led Princeton to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and Carmody was in his first year as an assistant coach with the Tigers.
At Northwestern, Robinson developed and implemented its recruiting technology and was responsible for local, national and international recruiting efforts. He was an integral part of Northwestern's dramatic turnaround, helping the Wildcats to the most wins in a four-year period in school history with 57 wins from the 2001-2002 to the 2004-2005 season. Robinson also helped with Northwestern being ranked number nine in the nation in scoring defense (58.8 points per game) in 2005-2006.
A 1983 graduate of Princeton with an AB degree in Sociology, Robinson is considered one of the top players in Ivy League basketball history. He ranks fourth on Princeton's all-time scoring list with 1,441 points, and led the Ivy League in field goal percentage in 1982 (.577) and 1983 (.642).
Robinson was also the league's first two-time honoree as Ivy League Player of the Year, sharing the honor in 1982 before winning it outright in 1983. Robinson, who played under legendary Princeton coach Pete Carrill, helped lead the Tigers to two NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure (1981 and 1983). His 16 rebounds in a NCAA Tournament win over Oklahoma State in 1983 rank fifth in the Ivy League record book for NCAA games.
After graduating from Princeton with a degree in sociology, Robinson was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the fourth round of the 1983 NBA draft. He played two seasons with the Manchester (England) Giants of the European Basketball League. In addition, he served as the assistant to the General Manager and public relations officer for Manchester.
Robinson began his coaching career as an assistant coach at the Illinois Institute of Technology from 1988-90. He was responsible for offense implementation, game strategy, recruiting and advance scouting. He was also the head coach at the University of Chicago High School in 1999-2000.
Robinson, who also has an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (1992), took a hiatus from coaching and went into private business in 1990. He was a Vice President for Continental Bank from 1990-92, Vice President for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter from 1992-99, and then Managing Director for Loop Capital Markets before he made his move to Northwestern.
A native of Chicago, Robinson has a 14-year-old son, Avery, and an 10-year-old daughter, Leslie.
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