The Maryland men's basketball program has hired Orlando "Bino" Ranson as an assistant coach, the school announced today.

Ranson, 35, replaces Chuck Driesell, who left College Park for the head coaching job at The Citadel in April.

A St. Frances graduate who got his coaching start with the Panthers in the early 2000s, Ranson spent the past season at Xavier, helping the Musketeers to a 26-9 record and the NCAA tournament's Sweet Sixteen.

"I grew up a diehard Maryland fan," Ranson said in a news release. "I've always studied the program from afar. I'm excited to be working for someone I consider to be a future Hall of Famer in Coach [Gary] Williams. I worked for one of his disciples in [Loyola coach] Jimmy Patsos, and I'm ready to help however I can at this next challenge."

Ranson graduated from Southern New Hampshire in 1999. He coached at St. Frances for two years before moving on to Loyola, where he spent two seasons as an administrative assistant on Patsos' staff. He left the Greyhounds for Marist, where he served as an assistant coach for three seasons. After that, he spent one year at James Madison before heading to Xavier in 2009.

"Bino has been a winner everywhere he's been," said Maryland coach Gary Williams. "His proven success in recruiting and his work ethic will be a very positive influence on our program."

Ranson has also worked at the AAU level, founding Team Baltimore. He has worked with Maryland guard Sean Mosley (St. Frances) and former Terps shooting guard Juan Dixon (Calvert Hall), former UMass guard Ricky Harris (Calvert Hall), former Pittsburgh guard Jermaine Dixon and former Syracuse forward Donte Greene (Towson Catholic).

"I think Bino is a good fit for the situation at Maryland," Williams Wells, the St. Frances boys coach from 1979 through 2008, told The Baltimore Sun earlier this week. "He can have a true contact not only with the Baltimore area, but the whole East Coast. Bino comes around a lot to support the kids and the different high school coaches."