President Stephen Jerome has appointed James Robinson, Jr. to be head coach of the Monroe Mustangs women’s basketball team. Coach Robinson was an assistant at Monroe for four years and has been acting head coach of the defending NJCAA Division II National Champions since the beginning of the current 2011-12 season. They are ranked #10 in the nation with a record of 24-5.
“Coach Robinson has been vital to the remarkable success of our women’s basketball program,” said President Jerome. “I’m most impressed that as acting coach he emphasized academics to his players. So not only have they won basketball games, but he’s guided them to develop skills that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. This is at the core of our philosophy and clearly Coach Robinson has embraced it.”
“The Monroe family accepted me since the first day that I came here,” said Coach Robinson. “I’m so excited to be part of this outstanding program that receives tremendous support from the college administration and entire Monroe community. We’re going to continue to stress the things that build winners on and off the court.”
Since Coach Robinson became an assistant at Monroe the women’s basketball program has prospered. In his first season with the team, the Mustangs won the 2007-08 national championship and they repeated the feat last year. The team’s record in his four-plus years is a remarkable 139-21 (.869).
In addition to the extraordinary won/loss record, Coach Robinson’s contributions to the Mustangs have been numerous. Along with devising game strategy, he’s a great foul shooting coach, and maybe most important, he’s kept players focused as individuals and as teammates.
A basketball coach at a varety of levels for more than twenty-five years, Coach Robinson is an expert in coaching fundamentals, a keen evaluator of student/athlete talent, and the kind of pro who can handle the recruiting process to maximum benefit for the student/athletes and Monroe’s women’s basketball program.
Coach Robinson has been the basketball trainer for the Department of Parks & Recreation in Peekskill, New York where he coordinated basketball leagues and trained and mentored young athletes. As Assistant Coach at Peekskill HS in 2006, he was an effective communicator between the players and head coach.
Samera Marsh is the Assistant Coach of women’s basketball.