Calipari Adds John Robic To Coaching Staff

Robic worked with Calipari at UMass from 1988-96.

 

July 15, 2005

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - University of Memphis basketball head coach John Calipari announced Friday that John Robic has joined the Tiger staff as an assistant. Robic, who was on Calipari's staff at the University of Massachusetts, comes to Memphis after serving as head coach at Youngstown State the past six years.

"John is a great addition to our staff," said Calipari, who enters his sixth season as the Tigers' head coach in 2005-06. "We worked together when we made that great run at UMass, and because of John's familiarity with our staff here, he is a perfect fit. John is an outstanding coach and a terrific person, and we welcome him and his family to Memphis."

From the 1999-2000 campaign through last season, Robic directed the Youngstown State program, and during his time there, he and his staff faced a huge challenge as the Penguins moved from the Mid-Continent Conference (Mid-Con) to the Horizon League, one of the nation's premier basketball conferences that includes Butler (2003 NCAA Sweet 16) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2005 NCAA Sweet 16).

Robic's Penguins best finish in the Horizon League was a sixth-place showing in the 2002-03 campaign, the program's second year in its new conference.

Prior to its move to the Horizon League, Youngstown State put together a tremendous year in the Mid-Con in 2000-01, Robic's second year at the helm. The Penguins posted a 19-11 overall mark and an 11-5 Mid-Con record. The 19 overall wins were the second-most in 16 seasons, and the 11 league victories tied the school record for most conference wins.

Before taking over at Youngstown State, Robic served as an assistant for 11 years at UMass for both Calipari and Bruiser Flint. During his time on staff, the Minutemen posted a 247-111 overall record (.690 winning percentage), won five-straight Atlantic 10 Conference regular season and tournament titles and earned nine postseason tournament bids (seven NCAA, two NIT). Robic was instrumental in helping UMass advance to the 1991 NIT final four, 1995 NCAA East Regional title game and the 1996 NCAA Tournament Final Four.
 

Robic served as a graduate assistant on Larry Brown's staff at Kansas for two years (1986-87, 1987-88) before moving to UMass with Calipari. While in Lawrence, he was a member of the coaching staff that led the Jayhawks to a 52-22 two-year mark and the 1988 NCAA championship. The 1986-87 squad advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

A graduate of North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., Robic attended Walsh College in Canton, Ohio, before transferring to Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where he earned his B.A. in speech communication and physical education in 1986. Last October, he was inducted into the North Hills High School Hall of Fame.

At Denison, Robic garnered Division III All-America accolades as a senior and was a two-time all-conference performer. He was one of 10 former players to be named to the 10th Anniversary All-Decade team in the league in 1994. Despite playing just two seasons at Denison, Robic is the sixth-leading scorer in school history.

Robic and his wife, Heidi, have three daughters, Hayley, Alli and Sophie.