When Georgia State welcomed Rob Lanier to the Panther Family as the new men's basketball coach in April, quick research showed the success that he has had over the years developing some of the top collegiate players in the country. Fast-forward six months later and not only has Georgia State added a winning coach, but also a man who will develop young men into champions on and off the court.

"Change is an awesome opportunity," Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb said during Lanier's press conference. "It comes with a lot of courage and throughout this process of hiring Coach Lanier, President Mark Becker and I talked a lot that one of the keys for us was to find a basketball coach that could help our guys not only develop as players, but also help our guys develop as young men. And without question we have been excited about Rob Lanier has done since joining the Panther Family."

Lanier has spent the last four seasons as associate head coach at Tennessee. The Volunteers finished the 2018-19 season 31-6, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.  The season included a win over the No. 1 team in the nation and a No. 1 national ranking for the Volunteers.

In addition to boasting four years of Division I head coaching experience at Siena, the 50-year-old Lanier also has coached in the Big 12, SEC, ACC, Big East, Atlantic 10 and MAAC. He has worked on the bench for 11 teams that advanced to NCAA Tournament play.

NCAA Tournament play is exactly what Georgia State has come to expect having advanced to the Big Dance three times in the last five years. Lanier expects nothing different under his watch.

"I'm excited and I know our guys are ready to start competing against someone else," Lanier said. "They have really gotten better in the last few weeks. It's hard to believe that it has been six months since I arrived at Georgia State. There has been an adjustment for not only the players, but also the staff as everyone is new. For a while it was 'my system' but now it is becoming 'our system' and I'm excited to see how it plays out as games get underway."

Lanier has proven the ability to win at the highest level while seeing players both go on to the NBA and graduate with degrees from some of the premier institutions in the country. Now he brings those experiences to Georgia State as the Panthers start defense of back-to-back Sun Belt Conference titles.