Free article about the new coach. I didn't see it posted yet so hopefully this isn't a repeat. Best wishes to his family.
Scout.com: Coach Robinson Excited About Joining Cyclones
Coach Robinson Excited About Joining Cyclones
By Greg Ohlson
Posted Jun 27, 2008
Daniyal Robinson wants Cyclone fans to know how excited he is to be a new assistant basketball coach at Iowa State. "I'm very excited with this opportunity. As an assistant coach you want to continue to progress," he said. "You work hard to put yourself in a position to be at this level."
However, much of his excitement was tempered due to the very sad news that his father passed away recently. "My father, Harvey Holmes, recently died from organ failure due to a liver transplant that he had a year ago," said Robinson. "The first six months were going well but then he got walking pneumonia and things got worse from there."
Robinson was quick to point out how much of a help
Iowa State Head Coach Greg McDermott has been through this tragic ordeal. "He's been awsome during this time," he said. "Just listening to me as a sounding board has been so helpful. This is something you're never prepared for and he couldn't have been more understanding to me during this tough time."
Coach Robinson will be moving his family to Ames this weekend and feels that staying busy on the job will help him during this very tough time in his life. "It's real helpful and I'm just really excited to be on this staff," he said. "I also understand that it's an unbelievable opportunity and I'm very gracious for Coach Mac (McDermott) bringing me in to this program. I really look forward to the challenges."
Robinson said the transition has been made easier due to the fact that he already knew most of the coaches on staff. "I've known Coach Mac for about five years," he said. "We met when I was at Illinois State and he was at Northern Iowa. I used to talk with him and also saw Coach Rutter (who was an assistant to McDermott also at Northern Iowa) on the road a lot so we also have known each other for a while." Robinson, who is considered an outstanding recruiter, also ran into Iowa State assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger on numerous occasions. "Over the last 4 to 5 years I have become real close with T.J. and so along with Coach (Ron) Smith who is such a savvy veteran I feel real lucky to be working with this staff."
Robinson feels that recruiting will be his top priority but that he will also fill a variety of roles. "Recruiting is obviously a main priority but what I like is that Coach Mac likes his assistants to be well-rounded," he said. "So I really look forward to also working with the post and wing players."
Robinson says that he hasn't been able to spend as much time as he would have liked with the players but that the month of July will give him that opportunity. "It's going to be a process as I've been able to spend some time with them," he said. "July and these upcoming months will be critical to developing those relationships."
Robinson has served twice as an assistant at his alma mater Arkansas Little-Rock and has also served as an assistant at Illinois State. He feels his early years in the profession clearly have prepared him for the challenges of the Big 12. "I feel working for Porter Moser really helped me in my development because he was relentless in regards to the day-to-day grind and he helped with both coaching and recruiting," he said. "I feel I was thrown into the fire at an early age as a graduate assistant and that I really learned from some phenomenal recruiters."
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