Craig Robinson

Craig Malcolm Robinson (born April 21, 1962) is an American college basketball coach, basketball executive, and broadcaster. He is a former head men's basketball coach at Oregon State University and Brown University. He was a star forward as a player at Princeton University in the early 1980s and a bond trader during the 1990s. He currently is the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He is the brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama and brother-in-law of former President of the United States Barack Obama.

Early life

Craig Malcolm Robinson was born on April 21, 1962, in Calumet Park, Illinois, to Fraser Robinson, a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian Robinson (née Shields), a secretary at Spiegel's catalog store. Robinson grew up in Chicago's South Shore with his younger sister, Michelle. He learned to read by the age of four at home and skipped the second grade in school.

When Robinson was considering which college to go to, his father insisted that he attend Princeton University for its Ivy League academics, rather than either the University of Washington or Purdue University, which offered scholarships and major basketball conference play.

Playing career Robinson was a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year at Princeton University, in 1981–1982 and 1982–1983, Robinson and former teammate John W. Rogers, Jr. were among those invited to practice with Michael Jordan as he prepared for his comeback.

Robinson was drafted in the fourth round of the 1983 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Robinson worked in the 1990s as a bond trader. He became a vice president at Continental Illinois Bank and worked there from 1990 to 1992. He gave an encouraging report to her. As he later related, "When I played basketball with Barack, he was quietly confident, which means he had good self-esteem without being cocky. He was certainly a team player – he wasn't a pig, he passed when he was supposed to pass, and he cut when he was supposed to cut. To me, that speaks to a lack of selfishness. He had natural leadership ability because he didn't just pass me the ball because he was dating my sister. Whenever a player gets tired, he reverts to the player he truly is. That's how you tell. And we played for hours. That's how I could tell." where he was an effective recruiter. The following year, the Brown Bears finished second in the league, and their 19 wins for the season was a team record. which gave him his largest national exposure. He was also on stage following Obama's victory speech in Grant Park after his election as president on November 4, 2008. following the team's winless Pacific-10 Conference record and overall 6–25 mark the year before. Robinson continued his tough-love approach, tailored to strengthening each player's weaknesses. and by late February, Robinson had hopes of the team getting a bid from one of the postseason tournaments. The team was indeed accepted into the 2009 College Basketball Invitational, where it went on to post a 5–1 record and captured its first post-season tournament championship ever with a final series victory over the UTEP Miners. Of the win, Robinson said, "I can't tell you how proud I am of these guys. ... This is a great story for anybody."

In July 2009, President Obama alluded to the possibility of Robinson coaching elsewhere by saying: "Craig Robinson is an outstanding coach. ... Anybody in Oregon and anybody who knows sports knows he turned it around. He loves Corvallis, and I'm sure that as a young, successful coach, he's going to start getting offers." Oregon State's 2009–10 season featured an inconsistent level of play in a conference dominated by parity, leading to an 8–10 regular-season conference record for a tie for fifth place. They then lost in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament. Despite the losing record, the team was invited to defend their championship at the 2010 College Basketball Invitational, but lacked focus and energy and were beaten easily in the first round, leaving them with an overall season record of 14–18.

In March 2010, shortly before the end of the season, the university and Robinson agreed on a two-year contract extension that would keep him in place through the 2015–16 season. In April 2010, Robinson published his memoir, A Game of Character: A Family Journey from Chicago's Southside to the Ivy League and Beyond.

The 2010–2011 season was one of regression for Oregon State, with the team falling to a 5–13, ninth-place finish in the conference, and a sharply losing record overall. However, Robinson professed to not being overly worried or disappointed, saying he was encouraged by the development of some of the underclassmen. The Obamas showed their support for Robinson by attending an Oregon State game against Towson in November 2011. The 2011–2012 season saw a Robinson-era best for overall wins, 21, including a pair in the 2012 College Basketball Invitational, but a fourth consecutive losing record within the conference. It was the highest win total for the team since 1990, and the completion of it saw star guard Jared Cunningham leaving after his junior season and being selected in the NBA draft, the first Beaver to be drafted in over a decade. In June 2012, construction began on a $15 million basketball practice facility that Robinson and previous coaches had long been campaigning for. But the Beavers went in the opposite direction by suffering one of their worst seasons ever, with a penchant for second-half collapses and end-of-game failures.

The 2013–2014 season saw the team improve to a 16–16 mark overall but have its sixth consecutive losing season in the conference. The team faced the loss of all five of its starters and its five top scorers following the season, due to graduation, transfers, and the like. On May 5, 2014, Robinson was fired from his position as the Oregon State men's head basketball coach. He was given a $4 million buyout of the three remaining years on his contract. The team had failed to make the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the National Invitation Tournament during Robinson's tenure. After one season, he left the Bucks to join the New York Knicks in a similar position.

Broadcasting career On October 7, 2014, ESPN announced the hiring of Robinson as a college basketball analyst. There, he began to work broadcasting games and doing studio work on ESPNU.

After coaching On July 13, 2020, Robinson was named the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Since March 2025, Robinson has hosted a weekly advice podcast called "IMO" alongside his sister, former First Lady Michelle Obama. The show, produced by Obama's Higher Ground Productions, features the siblings offering practical wisdom, relatable childhood anecdotes, and plenty of laughs while answering everyday and existential dilemmas submitted by their listeners. The podcast has featured many prominent guests, including former President Barack Obama, and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Personal life Robinson is the older brother of former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and the brother-in-law of former U.S. President Barack Obama. and Aaron in 2012. His daughter Leslie played for the Princeton Tigers women's basketball team as a forward.

Head coaching record