Les Robinson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Les Robinson is a former American basketball coach and currently the athletic director of The Citadel.
Robinson graduated in 1965 with a bachelor's of science degree in parks and recreation and physical education from North Carolina State University. He then became an assistant coach at N.C. State for one year. From there, he was the head basketball coach and athletic director at Cedar Key High School in Florida for two years. In 1968 he returned to graduate school, serving as an assistant coach at Western Carolina University where he also received a master's degree in physical education and guidance counseling.
After one year at Western Carolina, Robinson moved to The Citadel as an assistant coach. He served in that role for five years before taking over the program in 1974 - 1975. He coached at The Citadel for 11 seasons, winning a record 132 games. He was twice named South Carolina Coach of the Year and was a two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year.
In 1985 Robinson became East Tennessee State University's men's head basketball coach and athletic director. Under his guidance, ETSU won the 1989 and 1990 Southern Conference championships, playing in NCAA Tournament both years. In 1990 Robinson was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year and Tennessee Coach of the Year.
In 1989, Robinson served as an assistant coach for the U.S. World Championship qualifying team in Mexico City, Mexico. He also coached the South team to a Bronze medal in the 1993 Olympic Festival in San Antonio, Texas.
North Carolina State University hired Robinson in 1990 to replace Jim Valvano as head coach. He was the 1991 District Coach of the Year as selected by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) after leading NC State to a 20-11 record in the first season. Robinson was the only first-year coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference history to win 20 games, post a winning regular season conference record, and win games in both the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.
However, the Wolfpack lost scholarships as a result of NCAA sanctions, and the team plummeted into the ACC's second division for the next five years. At one point during the 1992-93 season, Robinson could only dress seven players.
Robinson was appointed as N.C. State's athletic director in 1996 and stepped down as head coach. He left to become The Citadel's athletic director in 2000.
| Preceded by: Jim Valvano |
NC State Men's Basketball Head Coaches 1990–1996 |
Succeeded by: Herb Sendek |
