robinson returned to coaching in 1999, making one-tenth his former salary. he was an assistant for six years to bill carmody at northwestern university, where he was an effective recruiter. he then became a head coach at brown university in 2006, where he ran a variation of the princeton offense which he learned from pete carril during his years at princeton. in improving a mid-level basketball program, he stressed work ethic, used tough love, and tried to improve the players' vocabulary. a fifth-place placing with a strong finish to the season garnered robinson the ivy league men's basketball coach of the year for the 2006–2007 season by basketball-u.com. the following year, the brown bears finished second in the league, and their 19 wins for the season was a team record.