Arizona men’s basketball assistant coach Steve Robinson has announced his retirement following 42 years as a coach at the Division I level. In his career, Robinson advanced to the NCAA Tournament 31 times, won three national championships, made it to the Final Four eight times, won 18 conference regular season titles, and eight conference tournament championships. He has also coached or recruited more than 60 players that have gone on to the NBA.
“It has been an absolute honor to be on Coach Lloyd’s staff these last four years,” Robinson said. “Wildcat Nation has welcomed me and my family with open arms and we are forever grateful for that. After more than 40 years of coaching and mentoring young men from around the world, I feel it is the right time for me to step away and spend more time with my wife, our kids and our grandkids. Coaching has been my passion from the day that I started and I want to thank each and every former player, coach or manager for the impact they have made on my life. There are so many lifelong friendships and memories that my family has been able to take away from college basketball, I could never begin to list them all.”
In his four seasons in Tucson, Robinson helped the Wildcats win four conference championships – two Pac-12 regular season titles and two Pac-12 Tournament titles. Arizona also advanced to the Sweet 16 in three of his four seasons and had 14 all-conference honorees and two All-American recipients.
“We are grateful that Coach Robinson and his family took the chance on me and moved to Tucson to help a first-time head coach,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. “From the first day, he brought a wealth of knowledge and experience that few coaches in the country have. His remarkable career has spanned four decades and some of the best basketball players in the game, which speaks to him as a person and a coach. He has represented the University of Arizona and our program at the highest level with integrity and respect. It’s an honor to call him a friend and, on behalf of Arizona Basketball, we wish him and his wife, Lisa, all the best in retirement.”
Before he arrived at Arizona, Robinson was an assistant coach at North Carolina alongside Roy Williams from 2003-21. During his time in Chapel Hill, Robinson and the Tar Heels won three national championships and he mentored three Cousy Award winners as the top point guard in the country. He also spent the 2002-03 season as an assistant coach at Kansas with Williams.
Robinson, a native of Roanoke, Virginia, was the head coach at Florida State from 1997-2002 and led the Seminoles to the second round of the 1998 NCAA tournament. As the head coach at Tulsa from 1995-97, he guided the Golden Hurricane to two straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to becoming a head coach, Robinson was an assistant at Kansas from 1988-95, Cornell from 1986-88 and his alma mater, Radford, from 1983-86.
In 2019, Robinson was part of the inaugural induction class to the A STEP UP Assistant Coach Hall of Fame. He’s also a member of the hall of fame at William Fleming High School, Ferrum Junior College and Radford University.
Robinson and his wife, Lisa, have four children – two daughters, Shauna and Kiaya, and two sons, Tarron and Denzel. Tarron and his wife, Kathryn, have two kids – Chloe and Cole.
Arizona assistant Steve Robinson retires following 42-year career
