Hiring of Steve Robinson rounds out Tommy Lloyd's diverse Arizona Wildcats staff

Known for recruiting players from all over the world, Tommy Lloyd has also put together a distinctly diverse staff for his first season of coaching the Arizona Wildcats.

The addition of veteran college basketball coach Steve Robinson, a longtime aide of Roy Williams at Kansas and North Carolina, adds decades of experience with powerhouse programs and an East Coast background to a staff that also includes Arizona roots, international ties and varying levels of experience in the college game.

During an interview with the Star before news of Robinson’s hiring surfaced on WildcatAuthority.com — it was later confirmed by the Star — Lloyd indicated he was leaning toward hiring somebody with significant high-level college basketball experience, since he is a first-year head coach and the rest of his staff skews younger.

Robinson, 63, appears to fit that description ideally. Robinson coached alongside Williams in two stints at Kansas and one at UNC, a 26-year partnership that ended when Williams retired this offseason. Robinson was not retained by new Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis, who hired a staff of all former UNC players.

A two-year starter and co-captain at Radford from 1978-80 and later an an assistant at both Radford and Cornell, Robinson worked under Williams at Kansas for seven seasons before becoming the head coach at Tulsa (1995-97) and Florida State (1997-2002).

Robinson took Tulsa to the NCAA Tournament in both his seasons with the Golden Hurricane, going 46-18 overall. In five years at FSU, Robinson was 64-86, reaching the NCAA Tournament in his first season of 1997-98.

At North Carolina, Robinson became Williams’ top staffer, taking over as head coach in a 2015-16 game when Williams left early in the second half because of vertigo.

“I couldn’t be happier for my team. I couldn’t be happier for Steve,” Williams said after that game. “Twenty eight years ago we had a two-hour meeting and I decided I was going to hire him. He has been like a brother to me for 21 years.”

Robinson and Suns player development Ricky Fois will be UA’s two new fulltime assistant coaches, joining associate head coach Jack Murphy, who was retained from the staff of former coach Sean Miller. UA has four other support staffers, all of whom have coaching experience, and is still searching for an assistant operations director.

Although Fois’ hiring is not official yet, Lloyd said his former Gonzaga colleague is his choice pending the hiring process. That appears to also involve Fois’ work visa, since he is an Italian citizen.

Robinson’s hiring is expected to become official next week, and both new assistants are expected to be in Tucson by the start of full preseason practices in late September.

Here’s a look at what each member of Lloyd’s staff brings:

Jack Murphy, associate head coach

Age: 42

College: Arizona (’02)

Hometown/background: Las Vegas/West Coast

Head coaching experience: NAU, 2012-2019. Record: 78-149

Other experience: Advance scout, Denver Nuggets (three seasons), assistant coach, Memphis (three seasons), various coaching aide roles, Arizona (eight seasons).

Known for: International and domestic recruiting, relationships with former Wildcats players, scouting.

<&rule>

Steve Robinson, assistant coach

<&rdpStrong>Age:</&rdpStrong> 63

<&rdpStrong>College:</&rdpStrong> Radford (’81)

<&rdpStrong>Hometown/background:</&rdpStrong> Roanoke, Virginia/East Coast

<&rdpStrong>Head coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> Tulsa, 1995-97; Florida State, 1997-2002. Combined record: 110-104

<&rdpStrong>Other experience:</&rdpStrong> Assistant coach, North Carolina (18 years), assistant coach, Kansas (eight years), assistant coach, Cornell (two years); assistant coach, Radford (three years).

<&rdpStrong>Known for:</&rdpStrong> Talent evaluation, player development, recruiting.

<&rule>

Riccardo Fois, assistant coach

<&rdpStrong>Age:</&rdpStrong> 34

<&rdpStrong>College:</&rdpStrong> Pepperdine (’08)

<&rdpStrong>Hometown/background:</&rdpStrong> Olbia, Italy/Europe

<&rdpStrong>Head coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> None

<&rdpStrong>Other coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> Director of player development, Phoenix Suns (two years); Director of analytics, Gonzaga (five years); Assistant coach, Italian national team (one year); graduate assistant, Pepperdine (two years)

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

<&rdpStrong>Known for:</&rdpStrong> Player development, international recruiting.

<&rule>

TJ Benson, special assistant/recruiting coordinator

<&rdpStrong>Age:</&rdpStrong> 35

<&rdpStrong>College:</&rdpStrong> Weber State (’09)

<&rdpStrong>Hometown/background:</&rdpStrong> Tempe/West Coast

<&rdpStrong>Head coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> None

<&rdpStrong>Other coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> Coordinator of basketball operations, Gonzaga (one season); assistant coach and director of operations, Grand Canyon (seven seasons), assistant director of basketball operations, Boise State (one season)

<&rdpStrong>Known for:</&rdpStrong> Recruiting, player development.

<&rule>

Jason Gardner, director of player relations

<&rdpStrong>Age:</&rdpStrong> 40

<&rdpStrong>College:</&rdpStrong> Arizona (’11)

<&rdpStrong>Hometown/background:</&rdpStrong> Indianapolis/Midwest

<&rdpStrong>Head coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> IUPUI, 2014-19. Record: 64-94

<&rdpStrong>Other coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> Assistant coach, Loyola-Chicago (two seasons); assistant coach, Memphis (one season).

<&rdpStrong>Known for:</&rdpStrong> UA and European playing experience, college coaching experience, relationships with former Wildcats.

<&rule>

Ken Nakagawa, director of advanced scouting

<&rdpStrong>Age:</&rdpStrong> 29

<&rdpStrong>College:</&rdpStrong> Long Beach State (’16)

<&rdpStrong>Hometown/background:</&rdpStrong> Los Angeles/Japan and West Coast

<&rdpStrong>Head coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> None

<&rdpStrong>Other coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> Video coordinator and graduate assistant, Gonzaga (five seasons); student manager and graduate assistant, Long Beach State (five years); assistant video coordinator and intern, Japanese Basketball Association (two years).

<&rdpStrong>Known for:</&rdpStrong> Analytics, video scouting and editing.

<&rule>

Rem Bakamus, director of player development

<&rdpStrong>Age:</&rdpStrong> 27

<&rdpStrong>College:</&rdpStrong> Gonzaga (’17)

<&rdpStrong>Hometown/background:</&rdpStrong> Longview, Washington/West Coast

<&rdpStrong>Head coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> None

<&rdpStrong>Other coaching experience:</&rdpStrong> Graduate assistant, Baylor (three seasons).

<&rdpStrong>Known for:</&rdpStrong> Player development, player relations.