Mizzou Basketball Head Coach Frank Haith announced two more additions to his staff on Friday, as former Southeast Missouri State assistant coach Toby Lane has been hired as the Director of Basketball Operations and former Mizzou 1,000-point scorer Matt Lawrence will serve in a graduate manager role while working on his graduate degree.
Lane comes to Mizzou after four seasons as the Associate Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Miami (2007-11). A veteran of the Midwest and the college coaching landscape, Lane brings versatility and experience to the Tiger coaching staff. He spent three years at Southeast Missouri State (2004-07) as an assistant coach, two years at Oklahoma as the Sooners’ video coordinator (2002-04) and was the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Long Beach State (2001-02). While at Oklahoma he was part of a staff that guided the Sooners to a Big 12 Tournament crown and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2003.
“Toby was a valuable part of our staff at Miami and he has a great grasp of all the day-to-day activities associated with Division I Basketball,” Head Coach Frank Haith said. “He has familiarity with our state from his time at Southeast Missouri and understands our league from his stint at Oklahoma. I’m excited to have him and Carla (wife) join us at Mizzou.”
Lane also spent four years at Central Oklahoma (1997-01) where he helped mentor former NBA player Eddie Robinson, who played for the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls from 1999-2004.
“I really appreciate this opportunity to come back to the state of Missouri and be a part of this great program,” Lane said. “Missouri Basketball has such a great tradition, one I have followed for years, and having a chance to be a part of this program and this community is a tremendous honor for me and my family.”
A native of Benton, Kan., Lane began his coaching career at Goessel High School (1993-96) in Goessel, Kan., and earned his bachelor’s degree from Wichita State in 1993. He completed his Masters in General Education from Central Oklahoma in 1999.
Lawrence finished his playing career at Mizzou in 2009 and helped the program to its historic 31-7 campaign in 2008-09. That season saw the Tigers advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and win the Big 12 Tournament title in Oklahoma City.
“It’s great to have Matt return to Columbia and join our staff,” Head Coach Frank Haith said. “As Tiger fans know, he is someone that is driven to succeed and has passion for this school and this program. He will be a great asset to our players and our staff as he begins his coaching career.”
Lawrence was named the Big 12’s co-Sixth Man of the Year in 2009 and finished his career second on Missouri’s all-time three-point field goals list with 244. Lawrence scored 1,004 points over his four-year career with 967 of those tallies coming over his final three campaigns.
“I’m excited to have this opportunity to come back to Mizzou and begin my coaching career,” Lawrence said. “Coaching has been a dream of mine and to be able to start the learning process at my alma mater is a dream come true. Missouri gave me the opportunity to earn an education and play college basketball and now it’s giving me a chance to follow another dream. I’m excited to be coming back home.”
After graduation, Lawrence played professionally for parts of two seasons, including a stint in Norway with the Tromso Storm, where he averaged 23.3 points over 27 games and hit a remarkable 110 three-pointers. Lawrence returned stateside in 2010 and began working on his graduate degree at Saint Louis University.
A native of St. Louis, Lawrence graduated from Lafayette High School where he played for Dave Porter.
