Daniyal Robinson is an American collegiate basketball coach. He played college basketball at

Indian Hills Community College Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) is a public community college in Iowa with campuses in Ottumwa and Centerville. IHCC serves both traditional residential students and commuter students, primarily from a ten-county area in southeast Iowa as ...

and the University of Arkansas–Little Rock, then served as an assistant coach for five collegiate teams before being named head coach for

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923. ...

prior to the start of the 2022–23 season.

Playing and assistant coaching career

Robinson is a native of

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...

, and played basketball at

Rock Island High School Rock Island High School, also known as "Rocky", is a public four-year high school located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. Rocky is within the Rock Island–Milan School District 41, and the school colors are crimson and gold. Administrati ...

. Robinson then attended

for two years, where he continued his basketball career, and subsequently played for the

Little Rock Trojans men's basketball The Little Rock Trojans men's basketball team (formerly branded as the Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans) represents the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. The Trojans joined the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC ...

team from 1996 to 1998. Robinson remained on the UA–LR staff as an administrative assistant to head coach

Porter Moser Porter Andrew Moser (born August 24, 1968) is a college basketball coach who is the current head coach of the University of Oklahoma Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball, men's basketball team. Moser spent 10 years (2011–2021) at Loyola University ...

. In 2003, Robinson joined the coaching staff of the

Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball The Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represents Illinois State University, located in Normal, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They are currently led by head coach Ryan Pedon and play their home games at CEFCU A ...

team under Moser. Moser and three of his assistant coaches, including Robinson, were terminated in March 2007. During the 2007–2008 season, Robinson was an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Arkansas–Little Rock. Robinson became an assistant coach for the

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball The Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represents Iowa State University (ISU) and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The Cyclones play their home games at Hilton Coliseum on Iowa State's campus. History Early years ...

team starting in the 2008–2009 season. From the 2010–2011 season, Robinson was an assistant coach for the

Houston Cougars men's basketball The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, in the NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The university is a member of the American Athletic Conference. The program has made six appea ...

program. In 2013, Robinson moved to the

Loyola Ramblers men's basketball The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers participate as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Ramblers joined the Missouri Valley Conference from 2013 to 2022, ending ...

team, again working under Moser. Before the 2014–15 season began, Robinson was elevated to associate head coach. Robinson returned to Iowa State to work on head coach

Steve Prohm Steven Marshall Prohm (born July 12, 1974) is an American basketball coach who is in his second tenure as the head coach for Murray State men's basketball. Previously, he was the head coach at Iowa State University, a position he had held from ...

's staff in 2015. When T. J. Otzelberger became head coach in 2021, Robinson was retained as an assistant coach.

Head coaching career

In April 2022, Robinson was hired as head coach of the

Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball is the men's college basketball team that represents Cleveland State University. Prior to rebranding from Fenn College, they were known as the Fenn College Foxes. Cleveland State has been in Division ...

program.

Recruiting and community outreach

During his first stint at Iowa State with head coach

Greg McDermott Greg McDermott (born November 25, 1964) is an American basketball coach who has been the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team since 2010. Previously, McDermott served as the head coach at Wayne State College, North Dakota ...

, Robinson was responsible for recruiting players from Chicago and junior colleges. He continued recruiting from those areas in his second stint with Iowa State. Robinson became known for his recruiting ability. Following the deaths of

Breonna Taylor Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020, when at least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing op ...

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...

, and

Jacob Blake On August 23, 2020, Jacob S. Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was shot and seriously injured by police officer Rusten Sheskey in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sheskey shot Blake in the back four times and the side three times after Blake opened the driv ...

, all in 2020, Robinson contacted fellow coaches across the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. He and the Iowa State coaching staff began discussing several topics with Cyclones' men's basketball players over

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...

, including

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...

, and

unrest Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including: * Civil unrest * Civil disorder * Domestic terrorism * Industrial unrest * Labor unrest * Rebellion * Riot * Strike action * State of emergency Notable historical instance ...

that began as a result of these deaths. Following these discussions, the Big 12 Black Assistant Coaches Alliance was established.

Personal life

Dainyal Robinson's older brother David also played basketball for Rock Island High School, at Indian Hills, then later for the

Quad City Thunder The Quad City Thunder was a Continental Basketball Association franchise that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. They played in the CBA from the 1987–88 season until the CBA folded in 2001. The Thunder were successful on the co ...

. Dainyal Robinson married Kim in 2003. The couple raised three children.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Daniyal Living people Little Rock Trojans men's basketball players Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball coaches Loyola Ramblers men's basketball coaches Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball coaches Houston Cougars men's basketball coaches Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Rock Island, Illinois Indian Hills Warriors basketball players African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players Little Rock Trojans men's basketball coaches 1970s births Basketball players from Illinois