Arizona announces staff addition of assistant coach Steve Robinson
Arizona made its latest hiring official Thursday as the basketball program announced the addition of longtime North Carolina assistant Steve Robinson as the latest piece to Tommy Lloyd's staff. Robinson comes to Tucson as one of the most accomplished assistant coaches in the country.
He spent the last 18 seasons in Chapel Hill alongside coach Roy Williams, but that is just part of his story in the coaching profession. He's been an assistant at Kansas, twice, Cornell and Radford while having head coaching stints at Florida State and Tulsa.
The Roanoke, Virginia native has earned the reputation of being a premier assistant coach at the college level and will add plenty of experience to what is a youthful staff under Lloyd, himself a first-time head coach.
“We are very fortunate to be able to add a coach to our staff with the pedigree of Steve Robinson,” Lloyd said in a statement provided by the program. “He is a first-class individual and knows the ins and outs of championship-level basketball, having won three National titles and made eight appearances in the Final Four. That experience will be an invaluable asset to our team and our program. We look forward to welcoming Coach Robinson and his wife, Lisa, to Tucson and the Arizona Basketball family.”
Robinson has spent 31 years as a college basketball coach with 27 trips to the NCAA Tournament over that time. He's been part of three teams that have won the national championship plus he has made the trip to the Final Four eight times in his career.
One of the most important recruiters at both UNC and KU over the last two decades, Robinson is credited with bringing in Harrison Barnes, Danny Green, Marvin Williams, Brendan Wright, Paul Pierce and others to both programs as lead recruiter for those players.
“I want to thank Coach Lloyd for this opportunity to join his staff at a place with the history and tradition like the University of Arizona,” Robinson said. “We have gotten to know each other over the years, and I know relationships are very important to him, so I can’t wait to start building those relationships on and off the court with the rest of the staff and the young men in this program.”
Robinson has worked primarily with perimeter players over the course of his career, and that will be important as he takes over for recently-departed assistant coach Jason Terry.
The Radford alum has a career head coaching record of 110-104 with 46 of his wins coming at Tulsa where he was 46-18 in two seasons as that program's head coach.
Both Lloyd and Robinson are members of the A Step Up Assistant Coach Hall of Fame with the UA head coach being inducted earlier this spring. Robinson was part of the inaugural class in 2019.
Robinson is the second assistant on Lloyd's staff joining associate head coach Jack Murphy. Phoenix Suns player development coach Riccardo Fois is expected to fill the remaining spot on the staff though his hiring has not yet been made official yet.
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