Men’s basketball has its new head coach: Daniyal Robinson – The Cauldron
Cleveland State University and Athletic Director Scott Garrett wasted no time finding a replacement for Coach Dennis Gates. Just a little over two weeks after Coach Gates left Cleveland State, a new head coach was hired to lead this men’s basketball team. Head coach Daniyal Robinson arrived for a press conference back on Apr. 6 and a new era for Cleveland State men’s basketball began. Robinson is coming off a Sweet Sixteen appearance as the assistant coach for Iowa State University and has over 20 years of experience in coaching NCAA Division I basketball.
From L-R: President Harlan Sands, coach Daniyal Robinson, athletic director Scott Garrett. Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Shiffman
Coach Robinson has inherited a great program at Cleveland State as the team comes off their second straight year atop the Horizon League, just missing out on another NCAA tournament bid. Robinson showed how thrilled he is to be with Cleveland State mentioning the shared values he has with the school and hopes to build on their success.
“…the program where it is at, they have done it together the last three years and our goal here is to continue to build on the success that CSU has had and the foundation that was set.”
Robinson has consistently been a part of a nationally ranked Iowa State team, once No. 4 in the entire country. It would appear that Cleveland State has made another phenomenal coaching hire, although the success he can bring to this team is yet to be seen.
New head coach Daniyal Robinson during his tenure with Iowa State University. Photo courtesy of Vikings Athletics
It may be a tough road for Robinson during his first year as two players, seniors D’Moi Hodge and Tre Gomillion decided to enter the transfer portal for their last year of eligibility. Hodge wrote that he will also be declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft without an agent. These were two breakout players for Cleveland State and while their tenure here still is not up, it will be important to keep an eye on where they go.
Robinson comes to Cleveland State boasting a large contract, $325,000 a year for the next five years according to cleveland.com. Should Robinson bring this team to the NCAA tournament, his base salary will increase to $400,000 a year. Cleveland State received $600,000 from Missouri for taking Coach Gates which helps pay for almost two years worth of Robinson’s current contract.
Next season will be an interesting one for Cleveland State men’s basketball as season tickets go up for sale and players enter the transfer portal. The eyes of the city will be on Coach Robinson during the 2022-23 season as he tries to continue the great success of the program.