Lorenzo Romar

From Hoopedia

Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958 in South Gate, California, United States) is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Washington. Romar also played basketball for the University of Washington from 1978 to 1980. After college, Romar was drafted by the Golden State Warriors and spent five years in the NBA.

After the NBA, Romar played and coached for Athletes in Action. Romar was then hired as an assistant coach at UCLA under coach Jim Harrick from 1992 to 1996, and was credited with recruiting many of the players on the 1995 national championship team. Romar then became head coach at Pepperdine University and then at Saint Louis University before taking the job at the University of Washington in 2002.

Romar is credited for turning around the sagging fortunes of the University of Washington basketball program and generating new enthusiasm for the program. In 2004, Washington qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. In 2005, Washington won the Pac-10 Tournament and earned a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies made their way to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1998 but were ousted by Louisville 93-79. In 2006, Washington earned a second consecutive appearance to the Sweet Sixteen before losing in overtime to Connecticut 98-92.

Romar is known by his fellow coaches as one of the top basketball recruiters in the country. He played an instrumental role for the success of the mid-1990s UCLA team as an assistant, attracting top players to the program. Now at Washington, he has pulled in nationally ranked classes and looks to place the Huskies among the top programs in the Pac-10.