Coach Lee "They will play for you"

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Robert Lee named the 12th basketball coach in University of Louisiana history.

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LOUISIANA La. – University of Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Director of Athletics Nelson Schexnayder announced Tuesday the hiring of Robert Lee as the school’s 12th head coach of men’s basketball.

Lee, 36, is a New Roads, La., native and 1991 graduate of Nicholls State University. He spent the last eight seasons as an assistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette serving on the staffs former head coaches Marty Fletcher (1996-97) and Jessie Evans (1997-2004).

Lee’s hiring is pending approval from the University of Louisiana System Board of Trustees.

Prior to arriving at Louisiana-Lafayette for the 1996-97 season, Lee orchestrated one of the most successful high school coaching careers in the Acadiana area in the early 1990s.

He joined the Ragin’ Cajuns basketball program during the summer of 1996 after serving four years as head coach at nearby Opelousas High School.

Lee guided OHS to four consecutive 20-win seasons including a 29-5 mark in his final year in 1995-96, which also included a berth in the state Class 4A quarterfinals. He was named the District 5-4A Coach of the Year for those efforts.

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Lee brings passion, focus

LOUISIANA La. - Robert Lee leaves no doubt about his vision for University of Louisiana Ragin' Cajun basketball.

He sees hard work, success and passionate play in the Ragin’ Cajuns’ future.

“I’ll make one promise,” Lee said. “We’re going to do it the right way.”

The longtime Cajun assistant was officially named the school’s 12th head coach on Tuesday, replacing Glynn Cyprien, who was recently fired for a bogus diploma after replacing Jessie Evans, and Lee was obviously energized about the challenge ahead.

“We will have a team you will be proud of,” Lee said. “We will play with an unbelievable amount of passion. They’ll play for you guys, for the University and for the community.

“When people pass by the Cajundome, I want them to say ‘That’s my team.’ When the team wins, they’re going to instill pride in the University. When they lose, it will be devasting to a lot of people.

“When we have that first game in the Cajundome, we may have 5-6-7,000 people there. But I guarantee you, the last game I coach here it will take the fire marshall to keep people away.”

No doubt about it. Lee has been waiting for this chance. He also has grown to appreciate the depth of the position.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com