Robert Lanier is a prominent American college basketball coach, currently serving as the head coach for the SMU Mustangs. He previously held the same position at Georgia State from 2019 to 2022 and at Siena from 2001 to 2005.

Lanier first showed interest in the sport from a young age, playing basketball growing up and progressing to college basketball at St. Bonaventure. During his time at St. Bonaventure, Lanier was chosen as part of the elite Atlantic 10 Conference All-Freshman Team and scored a staggering 868 career points. Lanier then kickstarted his coaching career as an assistant coach at Niagara, before moving on to Rutgers and then Texas, where he worked under Rick Barnes. He landed his first head coaching job at Siena in 2001; his remarkable leadership took the Saints to a conference tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA tournament in his first season. Following his time at Siena, he joined the coaching teams at Virginia and Florida, before being named the head coach at Georgia State in 2019. His impressive coaching record includes a 58-70 record during his four-year tenure at Siena, and a 53-30 record during his three seasons at Georgia State.

Basketball runs in the family for Lanier, with his coaching career notably influenced by his cousin — former NBA player and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Lanier. His son, Emory, also plays basketball for SMU, where Lanier accepted the head coach position in 2022 and continues to thrive in his successful coaching career.