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Kentucky coach Mark Pope added two new members to his coaching staff on Monday.

Nick Robinson was hired as director of operations after serving on Pope’s staff as an assistant coach at BYU for the past five seasons. Randy Towner was hired as the team’s strength coach.

Pope said Robinson’s experience will be a big plus for his staff. Robinson served as a head coach at Southern Utah from 2012-2016 and also was an assistant coach at LSU during the 2011-12 season.

“Nick Robinson has worked in college basketball in every capacity from being a special assistant to the head coach to the head coach himself,” Pope said. “He’s had incredible success, worked in every area of the country, has a great track record and an incredible future in front of him.”

Robinson played at Stanford from 2001-05, and is known for making a 35-foot buzzer beater to lead the Cardinal past Arizona in 2004.

“Along with being a terrific coach, he was a great player in his own right, hitting one of the most famous shots in the history of the Pac-12,” Pope said. “As a Stanford grad, he’s incredibly intelligent and has boundless energy and intensity. Nick is meticulously organized and extremely passionate about building a high-level program. We’re happy to have him on staff.”

Robinson said he’s anxious to begin working with Pope and his staff.

“What a privilege to be joining the Kentucky basketball family,” Robinson said. “I’m grateful to Mitch Barnhart and Coach Pope for the opportunity to work with incredible people who strive for excellence in every aspect of the program. The best fans in the country, my family and I are excited to represent BBN and our amazing players.”

Towner brings collegiate and professional experience with him to Kentucky. Pope said Towner is “one of the elite strength and conditioning coaches in all of basketball.

“He spent time in the college ranks before moving on to one of the best staffs in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks,” Pope said. “Our guys are blessed to have him here. He has a ton of juice, a wealth of expertise and will embrace what Kentucky basketball is all about.”

Towner is glad to be reunited with Pope after working with him at Utah Valley State.

“I could not be more excited to join Coach Pope’s staff again,” Towner said. “We had a great experience working together at Utah Valley and I’m excited for the chance to work with him again here at Kentucky. We want to step in and be the best performance staff in the country and help this program win a national championship. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but we are up for the challenge.”