Robert A. Lanier (born July 24, 1968) is an American college basketball coach who currently serves as the head coach for the Rice Owls. Previously, he was the head coach at Southern Methodist University. He also served as the head coach at Georgia State from 2019 to 2022 and Siena from 2001 to 2005.[1]
 Lanier in 2008 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Rice |
| Conference | The American |
| Record | 8–4 (.667) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | July 24, 1968 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1986–1990 | St. Bonaventure |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1990–1992 | Niagara (assistant) |
| 1992–1997 | St. Bonaventure (assistant) |
| 1997–1999 | Rutgers (assistant) |
| 1999–2001 | Texas (assistant) |
| 2001–2005 | Siena |
| 2005–2007 | Virginia (assistant) |
| 2007–2011 | Florida (assistant) |
| 2011–2015 | Texas (assistant) |
| 2015–2019 | Tennessee (assistant) |
| 2019–2022 | Georgia State |
| 2022–2024 | SMU |
| 2024–present | Rice |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 149–139 (.517) |
| Tournaments | 1–2 (NCAA Division I) 2–2 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
Playing career
editLanier played his college basketball at St. Bonaventure, where he scored 868 career points and was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Freshman Team.[2][3]
Coaching career
editLanier's first coaching stop was at Niagara as an assistant for two seasons before moving back to an assistant coaching spot at his alma mater. After a two-year stop at Rutgers, Lanier joined Rick Barnes's staff at Texas.[4] In 2001, he was hired for his first head coaching job at Siena College where in his first season at the helm, he guided the Saints to a MAAC conference tournament championship and spot in the 2002 NCAA tournament where they defeated Alcorn State in the opening round, and lost to eventual national champion Maryland in the first round.[5][6] He also led Siena to a 2003 NIT appearance where the Saints advanced to the third round with wins over Western Michigan and Villanova. After four seasons and a 58–70 record, Lanier was fired by Siena.[7]
Lanier joined the coaching staffs at Virginia and Florida before reuniting with Barnes at both Texas and Tennessee.[2] On April 5, 2019, Lanier was named the head coach at Georgia State University, replacing Ron Hunter who accepted the head coaching position at Tulane.[8][9]
Lanier went 53–30 in 3 seasons at Georgia State, until he accepted the head coach position at Southern Methodist University on March 27, 2022.[10]
On March 21, 2024, SMU fired Lanier.[11] Several days later, Lanier was hired by Rice University.[12]
Personal
editLanier is the cousin of former NBA player and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Bob Lanier.[2] Lanier's son Emory played basketball for Southern Methodist University.[13]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siena Saints (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2001–2005) | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | Siena | 17–19 | 9–9 | 7th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2002–03 | Siena | 21–11 | 12–6 | 3rd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2003–04 | Siena | 14–16 | 9–9 | 6th | |||||
| 2004–05 | Siena | 6–24 | 4–14 | 10th | |||||
| Siena: | 58–70 (.453) | 34–38 (.472) | |||||||
| Georgia State Panthers (Sun Belt Conference) (2019–2022) | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | Georgia State | 19–13 | 12–8 | T–4th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Georgia State | 16–6 | 8–4 | 1st (East) | |||||
| 2021–22 | Georgia State | 18–11 | 9–5 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| Georgia State: | 53–30 (.639) | 29–17 (.630) | |||||||
| SMU Mustangs (American Athletic Conference) (2022–2024) | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | SMU | 10–22 | 5–13 | 10th | |||||
| 2023–24 | SMU | 20–13 | 11–7 | T–5th | NIT First Round | ||||
| SMU: | 30–35 (.462) | 16–20 (.444) | |||||||
| Rice Owls (American Athletic Conference) (2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024–25 | Rice | 8–4 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Rice: | 8–4 (.667) | 0–0 (–) | |||||||
| Total: | 149–139 (.517) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Footnotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Rob Lanier Coaching Record". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ a b c "Rob Lanier – Men's Basketball Coach". University of Tennessee Athletics.
- ^ "Rob Lanier College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "Rob Lanier – Men's Basketball Coach". University of Texas Athletics.
- ^ Amedio, Steve (25 January 2002). "Shaken Saints hoping to recover tonight against Griffins". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ "Rob Lanier". GeorgiaStateSports.com.
- ^ "Siena fires Coach Rob Lanier". UPI.
- ^ "Georgia State Names Tennessee Associate Head Coach Rob Lanier Head Coach". GeorgiaStateSports.com.
- ^ Mark Bradley, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Georgia State picks Rob Lanier. It's a solid hire". ajc.
- ^ "SMU names Rob Lanier, 53, 'a proven leader,' Mustangs' next men's basketball coach". ESPN. Mar 27, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ "ACC-bound SMU fires coach Rob Lanier after 2 seasons". Associated Press. March 21, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ "Rob Lanier Named 26th Head Men's Basketball Coach". Rice University. March 24, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ "Emory Lanier – Men's Basketball". Davidson College Athletics.
   | This biographical article relating to a United States basketball coach is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This biographical article relating to a United States basketball player, coach, or other figure born in the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |