MADISON — When Wisconsin coach Greg Gard talked about his plans to revamp his team, he repeatedly noted that his goal was to keep up with the changes affecting college basketball.
Gard’s hiring of Lance Randall, announced Wednesday, illustrates that desire.
Randall, a native of Montfort, Wis., has led Oshkosh West to two WIAA state titles as head coach, has been a successful college coach at Division II and Division III programs and has international experience, which could help UW’s desire to Expand your recruiting base.
He has accumulated more than 400 victories, including more than 250 at the Division II and Division III levels in college.
“This search process was extensive and we evaluated a multitude of qualified candidates at various levels for the position,” Gard said. “As we continue to evaluate and navigate the ever-changing landscape of college basketball, I am confident that Lance will bring a wealth of experience and broad versatility to our program. He has stood out since the beginning of our search with his winning record, experience coaching at multiple levels, coupled with his passion and understanding of our program.”
Randall began his coaching career in 1994 as an assistant head coach at Division III Beloit College, his alma mater. He was at Beloit from 1994-97 and was the head coach at Division III Webster University from 1997-2000 before moving on to Oshkosh West. He led West to WIAA titles in 2006 and 2007.
He served two stints as head coach at Division II Saint Leo University – from 2011-15 and from 2019 through last season. Between those stints, he was the head coach at Division II Lindenwood from 2015-19.
Randall compiled a 146-100 record (.593 winning percentage) at Saint Leo. He is the only coach in the program’s 60-year history to win NCAA tournament games and has led the program to three consecutive tournament berths. At Lindenwood, Randall led the program to the most NCAA Division II victories in school history, its first NCAA regional ranking, and the school’s first Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) tournament victories.
Randall’s international ties include serving as head basketball coach/vice president of the Pertemps Birmingham Bullets, a professional team in England, from 2000 to 2002.
He also served as assistant coach of the Kosovo men’s national basketball team in the summer of 2017. Randall was last month named head coach of the Great Britain men’s under-20 national basketball team, which is scheduled to participate in events across the Europe in July. “Lance brings three decades of coaching experience, including great success as a head coach at the NCAA Division II and III levels,” Gard said. “Lance is well connected throughout our state, across the country and internationally in the game of basketball.
“Because of these relationships and connections, this will allow us to have an impact on our recruiting efforts in a variety of areas. Lance is highly regarded by his peers and colleagues.”I know how much this opportunity means to Lance, and he is excited to come to Madison to start working with the rest of our team and players.”
Randall joins associate head coach Joe Krabbenhoft, Sharif Chambliss and Kirk Penney, whose title is special assistant to the head coach. “I am so grateful that Coach Gard has given me this opportunity to be a part of this famous Wisconsin program,” Randall said. “Growing up in Wisconsin, I am very familiar with the history of this program, including the current team. It is an honor to work for Coach Gard and alongside his outstanding staff on the Badgers men’s basketball team.” part of this next step in the Wisconsin men’s basketball journey.”
This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lance Randall Joins Wisconsin Men’s Basketball Team
