Mon Apr 7 19:45:49 2008

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Oregon State names Robinson coach

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Corvallis, OR (Sports Network) - Oregon State has named Craig Robinson its new men's basketball coach.

The school made the announcement at a news conference Monday night for Brown, who had been the coach at Brown University.

Robinson, the brother-in-law of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, piloted Brown to a second-place finish in the Ivy League this past season behind Cornell. He was 30-28 in two seasons with the Bears and led Brown to a school record 19 victories this past season.

Prior to Brown, Robinson worked at Northwestern, where he spent six seasons with the Wildcats under head coach Bill Carmody.

The 45-year-old Robinson will inherit a struggling Oregon State program that fired coach Jay John during the season and finished playing under interim mentor Kevin Mouton.

"I will coach to the strengths of the players I recruit," Robinson said. "The foundation of my game plan will be an up-tempo, unselfish offense anchored by a disciplined, team-oriented defense. My staff and I will teach our players offensive and defensive fundamentals emphasizing an unselfish philosophy."

The Beavers were a dismal 6-25 in 2007-08 and finished last in the Pac-10, becoming the first team in league history to go 0-18 in the conference.