GA State names Vols’ assistant Lanier coach

7:02 am | April 5, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:

10:44 AM ET

Georgia State has hired Tennessee assistant Rob Lanier as its next head coach, the school announced Friday morning.

Lanier replaces Ron Hunter, who left last month for the vacancy at Tulane.

“In Rob Lanier, we’ve hired a basketball coach who I believe will take Georgia State basketball to the next level,” Georgia State president Mark Becker said. “He has vast experience coaching in some of the nation’s premier college basketball programs, and he has a deep commitment to developing players as students and athletes. Coach Lanier’s demonstrated record of recruiting top talent, including numerous all-Americans, also bodes well for the future of Panther basketball. I welcome him to Atlanta and the Georgia State family.”

Lanier has been an assistant coach under Rick Barnes at Tennessee since 2015, but also worked under Barnes at Texas since 2011. Lanier spent time as an assistant coach at Florida, Virginia, Rutgers, St. Bonaventure and Niagara, while also spending four seasons as the head coach at Siena. He coached the Saints from 2001-2005, compiling a 58-70 record with one appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2002..

“I would like to thank Georgia State President Mark Becker along with Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb for this incredible opportunity,” Lanier said. “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. I am excited to begin building relationships with the young men in this program.”

Hunter led Georgia State to three NCAA tournaments in the last five seasons, including Sun Belt regular-season and conference tournament championships this season. The Panthers lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Houston.