Robert Lawrence Lee (born March 12, 1968) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a Public university, public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus Universi ...

from 2004 to 2010.

Early life and education

Born in

New Roads, Louisiana New Roads (historically ) is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana was located in New Roads in 2000. The population was 4,831 at the 2010 census, down from 4,966 ...

, Lee graduated from Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee in New Roads. At

Nicholls State University Nicholls State University is a public university in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Founded in 1948, Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System. Originally named Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nichol ...

, Lee played under

Gordon Stauffer Gordon C. Stauffer (May 21, 1930 – September 23, 2019) was an American college basketball coach. He was the head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University; leading their transition from NCAA College Division (now Division II) to Divisi ...

on the

Nicholls State Colonels men's basketball The Nicholls Colonels men's basketball team represents Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana in the sport of basketball. The school's team currently competes in the Southland Conference. Nicholls' first men's basketball team was fi ...

team from 1986 to 1990 before becoming a student assistant in the 1990–91 season. As a senior, Lee started all 27 games played and averaged 12.8 points and 2.3 rebounds. Lee completed his bachelor's degree in general studies in May 1991.

Coaching career

Opelousas High School (1991–1996)

From 1992 to 1996, Lee was head coach at

Opelousas High School The St. Landry Parish School Board is located in Opelousas, Louisiana. The St. Landry Parish School District is rated a C district. Mr. Milton Batiste, III is the superintendent of the St. Landry Parish School System. Schools The St. Landry Pa ...

Opelousas, Louisiana Opelousas (; ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 in Louisiana, Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 in Louisiana, U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a ju ...

. In five seasons, Lee had a cumulative 109–29 record.

Louisiana–Lafayette assistant and head coach (1996–2010)

From 1996 to 2004, Lee was an assistant coach at

Louisiana–Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana Sys ...

under Marty Fletcher and Jessie Evans. During those years, Louisiana–Lafayette won the Sun Belt tournament in 2000 with an automatic qualification to the NCAA tournament, along with two NIT appearances and two Sun Belt West Division championships in 2002 and 2003. On August 17, 2004, Lee was promoted to head coach. This followed the firing of

Glynn Cyprien Glynn Ray Cyprien (born September 13, 1966) is an American basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach at Texas Tech. He was formerly an assistant under Billy Kennedy at Texas A&M University in College Station. He previously assisted ...

over resume issues. In six seasons as head coach, Lee had a cumulative 80–100 record. Although Louisiana–Lafayette finished 2004–05 with a 20–11 record, Sun Belt Tournament title, and NCAA Tournament appearance, the NCAA vacated 17 wins, the conference title, and postseason appearance from that season due to the academic ineligibility of

Orien Greene Orien Randolph Greene II (born February 4, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. His first two professional seasons were spent with the NBA's Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, respectively. He played briefly with the Sacra ...

. Due to resulting NCAA sanctions combined with a low

Academic Progress Rate The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a measure introduced by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the nonprofit association that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, to ...

score after his second season, Lee could offer only a reduced number of scholarships beginning in 2007–08. Despite these sanctions and having one of the youngest rosters in the Sun Belt, the team won the Sun Belt West Division co-championship in 2008 with a 15–15 (11–7 Sun Belt) record, which would be the best single-season winning percentage in Lee's tenure. In his final season, Louisiana–Lafayette finished 13–17 (10–8 Sun Belt). On March 9, 2010, following a loss to Louisiana–Monroe in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament, Louisiana–Lafayette announced that Lee's contract would not be renewed.

Return to assistant coaching (2010–2014)

After leaving Louisiana–Lafayette, Lee was an assistant at in-state Sun Belt rival Louisiana–Monroe under

Keith Richard Keith Gerard Richard (born January 10, 1960) is a former American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Louisiana Tech University. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Richard earned a B.A. in business (1 ...

in the 2010–11 season. Again in the Sun Belt, Lee was an assistant at Arkansas–Little Rock under Steve Shields from 2011 to 2014.

Morgan City High School (2015–2016)

After a year away from basketball, in the summer of 2015, Lee became head coach at

Morgan City High School Morgan City High School is a public secondary school located in Morgan City, Louisiana, United States. It is operated by the St. Mary Parish School Board. The school colors are green and white. The school opened in 1911 and celebrated its cent ...

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States, located in the Acadiana region. The population was 11,472 at the 2020 census. Known for being "right in the middle of everywhere", Morgan City is located southeast of ...

. He left after one season with a 12–18 record.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Robert 1968 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from Louisiana High school basketball coaches in Louisiana Little Rock Trojans men's basketball coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball coaches Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks men's basketball coaches Nicholls Colonels men's basketball coaches Nicholls Colonels men's basketball players People from New Roads, Louisiana 20th-century American sportsmen