CLEVELAND — Editor's Note: You can watch Daniyal Robinson's interview with Jim Donovan from Wednesday's Front Row in the player above.
Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center is about to become "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood."
The Vikings have hired Iowa State assistant Daniyal Robinson to become the new men's basketball head coach. Robinson was officially introduced at a 2 p.m. news conference on Wednesday.
CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein was the first to report the news of Robinson's hiring. CSU made the news official late Tuesday night as the reports spread.
Robinson comes to Cleveland after spending nine seasons, including two separate stints, with Iowa State as an assistant. In his second run with the Cyclones, Robinson helped Iowa State to two Big 12 Tournaments titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament, including Sweet 16 berths in 2022 and 2016. During his two stops in Ames, Robinson has seen 12 Cyclones reach the NBA, including lottery pick Tyrese Haliburton in 2020.
In addition to his time with Iowa State, Robinson has also served as an assistant at Houston, Loyola (Chicago), Illinois State, and at his alma mater of Arkansas-Little Rock.
Robinson will replace Dennis Gates, who left the Vikings to become the head coach at Missouri last month. In three seasons with CSU, Gates totaled a 50-40 record, including a 38-21 mark in Horizon League play, and was twice named the conference's Coach of the Year (2020, 2021). Gates led the Vikings to two Horizon League regular season titles (2021, 2022), plus the Horizon League Tournament Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2021. His .556 winning percentage is the second-best in program history, trailing only Kevin Mackey (.672).
You can watch Robinson's introductory news conference below:
Robinson also spoke with 3News' Dave "Dino" DeNatale on Facebook Live on Wednesday. You can watch in the player below:
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