Rob Lanier hired as Georgia State head coach

After spending the last eight seasons as Rick Barnes‘ associate head coach at Texas and Tennessee, Rob Lanier is getting back into head coaching. The former Siena head coach was announced Friday as the new head coach at Georgia State.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Rob and his family to the Panther Family,” GSU AD Charlie Cobb said in a release. “We believe that under his leadership, our program will continue to rise as one of the premier programs in the country. He understands the core values we have at Georgia State and will help our student-athletes succeed both on the court and in the classroom.”

The Panthers, who have been to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons, were looking for a new head coach after Ron Hunter left for Tulane last month.

“This is a time of great transformation at Georgia State and I look forward to continuing to build on the reputation that our men’s basketball program has established nationally,” Lanier said. “I am excited to begin building relationships with the young men in this program.”

Lanier was 58-70 as the Siena head coach from 2001-2005, leading the Saints to the 2002 NCAA Tournament in his first season there and the NIT a year later. The NY-native has spent the last 14 years coaching in the South, with stops at Virginia and Florida in addition to his time with Barnes.

credit to Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics for the photo