University of Florida head men’s basketball coach Billy Donovan announced on Wednesday that Rob Lanier has been hired to join the program as an assistant coach.

“We’re thrilled to be able to bring in an assistant coach of Rob’s caliber,” Donovan said. “He’s a great teacher of the game, a proven recruiter and will be a fantastic addition to our program.”

Lanier will replace former associate head coach Donnie Jones, who accepted the head coaching job at Marshall on April 7. He comes to UF following a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Virginia, where he helped lead the Cavaliers to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2007.

Prior to his tenure at UVa, Lanier served as head coach at Siena from 2001-05, guiding the Saints to an NCAA Tournament appearance and a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship in 2002. He also led Siena to the second round of the 2003 NIT.

Lanier also has experience as an assistant coach at St. Bonaventure (1992-97), Rutgers (1997-99) and Texas (1999-2001), and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Niagara in 1990. A veteran of the international coaching ranks, Lanier has coached teams of collegiate players from the United States that competed in the Netherlands (1995), Italy (1996), Germany (1998) and Greece (1999 and 2000).

A four-year letterwinner in basketball at St. Bonaventure, Lanier was a three-year starter and captained the Bonnies as a senior. The Buffalo, N.Y., native earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from St. Bonaventure in 1990, and his master’s degree in educational counseling from Niagara in 1993.

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