Aurora University today announced the promotion of Lance Robinson to head coach of the AU men’s basketball program. Robinson takes over for the recently retired James Lancaster whom he served as an assistant coach for the last six seasons.
“First as a player and more recently as an assistant coach, Lance Robinson has been a leader in Aurora University’s men’s basketball program,” said Aurora University President Rebecca Sherrick. “As he takes the reins from Coach Lancaster, I know that the Spartans will continue to be a dominant force for years to come.”
Robinson moves into the head coach chair after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach for the Spartans. He was a four-year player at AU prior to moving to the coaching role. In his six seasons as an assistant coach, AU amassed a 108-55 overall record with three 20-win seasons, including each of the last two seasons.
“We are confident in Lance Robinson and his ability to create Spartans that succeed in all areas of intercollegiate athletics. We are fortunate that during this time of transition we have someone within the AU family that will take over leadership of the program and the goals and expectations will not be affected. The future is bright for AU Men’s Basketball under Coach Robinson’s guidance,” said Director of Athletics Jim Hamad. “Lance has been with the program for 10 years and it is comforting that he understands hard work and strong character are the key characteristics of a Spartan.”
“It is an honor to be selected to represent Aurora University and the AU men’s basketball program. Words cannot express the gratitude I have for President Sherrick, Vice President Lora DeLacey and Director of Athletics Jim Hamad for this opportunity,” said Robinson. “I am extremely grateful and blessed to be able to have my ‘dream job’ and I look forward to the challenge of taking the baton from Coach Lancaster. I can’t thank Coach Lancaster enough for all he has done for me. His love for this university, the basketball program, and players (past and present) is second to none. I look forward to upholding the standard and raising the bar.
As a student-athlete at AU, Robinson enjoyed success on the court as well. In his career, the Spartans amassed an 81-34 record with four conference championships and four trips to the NCAA Tournament. He finished his career with 787 points, 589 rebounds, 489 assists and 203 steals. In his senior season, Robinson, with his all-around game, averaged 13.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game and had an almost three-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio (2.60) while shooting 48.8 percent from the field (163-of-334) and averaging 1.8 steals per game, while being named the 2009-2010 Northern Athletics Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Additionally, he was named by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) as a First-Team All-Midwest Region and Third-Team Midwest All-Region by D3hoops.com and First-Team All-Conference in the NAC.
Robinson becomes the 27th men’s basketball head coach in the 104 year history of the program and just the third since the 1980 season.
The AU men open the 2016-2017 season on Tuesday, November 15, when they host Millikin University at 7:30 p.m. in Thornton Gymnasium.
http://athletics.aurora.edu/news/2016/7/11/au-promotes-robinson-to-lead-mens-basketball-program.aspx
