Coaching Staff Coaching Staff Head Coach Lorenzo Romar
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HuskiesCoaching Staff Coaching Staff Head Coach Lorenzo Romar Washington men’s ship and finish 31-2. Cameron Dollar, an assistant • Saint Louis won their first conference tourna- basketball coach coach on Romar’s Saint Louis and Washington ment championship in the program’s history. Lorenzo Romar was staffs, was one of the stars for the Bruins during named to head up that national title contest, replacing injured point • The Billikens became the first No. 9 seed to the program at his guard Tyus Edney in the starting lineup. win the Conference USA Tournament. alma mater on April Romar built a reputation as one of the nation’s top • Saint Louis upset a No. 1 team, Cincinnati, for 3, 2002. A point recruiters while an assistant at UCLA (1992-1996) the first time since the 1951-52 season when guard for the Hus- and was credited with recruiting much of the talent the Bills knocked off top-ranked Kentucky. kies’ 1978-79 and that formed the core of the Bruins’ title team. 1979-80 teams, • The Billikens won the first Bud Light Show- Romar is the 18th In three years at Saint Louis, Romar compiled a down by knocking off intrastate rival Missouri head coach in 51-44 (.537) record, including victories over nine for the first time since the 1970-71 season. Washington’s 101- different conference champions. His 51 wins rank After reaching the NCAA Tournament in his first year history. He is the first African-American No. 7 among all-time SLU coaches and is the season, expectations were high for Romar’s 2000- coach to lead the Washington basketball program. fourth-best three-year total in the school’s history. 01 squad. The team impressed with a 17-14 record, “We are excited to have Lorenzo come back to the Romar was named head men’s basketball coach at and became the first team in Conference USA University of Washington and direct our basket- Saint Louis on March 26, 1999. In his inaugural history to defeat perennial power Cincinnati in ball program,” Athletic Director Barbara Hedges season at the school, Romar guided the Billikens to back-to-back games. Romar also directed the exclaimed of his hiring. “Lorenzo is very highly a 19-14 record, including an upset of top-ranked Billikens to season sweeps of eventual conference regarded in the coaching profession and I think we Cincinnati. That was the third best debut season champion Charlotte and rival Louisville. That was are extremely lucky to have him back as a Husky.” record in Saint Louis annals. the first time Saint Louis had swept the Cardinals in 35 years, dating back to 1965. A 1977-80 UW letterman, Romar has a 103-105 His basketball life has been marked by success at (.495) record in seven seasons as a head coach. every level beginning with his playing career from Riding the momentum from back-to-back suc- cessful seasons, the 2001-02 Saint Louis squad His inaugural Washington campaign concluded high school to the NBA through his coaching faced a tough schedule that included 14 games with a 10-17 record. UW placed ninth in the Pac- career. He continued that success with a notable against teams that earned postseason invitations in 10 with a 5-13 mark. The youthful Husky roster run of firsts in his initial season at Saint Louis. 2002. The Billikens finished with a 15-16 overall included only one senior and six freshmen. In directing the Billikens to the Conference USA record, but lost seven games by five points or less, Highlighting the 2003 campaign was a pair of Tournament title and an automatic invitation to the including a two-point loss to NCAA Elite Eight home victories over NCAA Tournament-bound NCAA Tournament, Romar became the first Saint competitor Missouri and a four-point heartbreaker opponents Stanford and Oregon. Louis coach to accomplish either feat in his debut to Cincinnati, which later earned a No. 1 seed in the season. The 1999-2000 season marked many other 2002 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Romar is well respected among his peers as his notable firsts as well: selection to the 2003 USA Basketball Pan Ameri- Despite the close losses, Romar’s players rallied to can Games staff can attest. He served as an assis- • Romar became the first coach in SLU history win their last four games entering the Conference tant to head coach Tom Izzo this summer. to lead the team into the NCAA Tournament in USA Tournament, but were eliminated by Tulane, his debut season. Washington is Romar’s third stint as a head col- 50-47, in the first round. lege coach. During three-year tenures at Pepperdine (1997-1999) and Saint Louis (2000-2002), he gained a reputation as a hard-working coach ad- mired for integrity and dedication to his team. “He is an outstanding coach,” legendary UCLA coach John Wooden remarked. “I see nothing but a bright future for Lorenzo.” At both Pepperdine and Saint Louis, Romar helped to revive programs to a competitive level. He led the Waves to a pair of second-place finishes in the Big West Conference and an NIT invitation in 1999. During his first season at Saint Louis, the Billikens upset top-ranked Cincinnati in the sec- ond round of the Conference USA tournament and went on to win the championship and the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championships. During each of his final two seasons at Saint Louis, his teams defeated Washington. The Billikens beat UW 69-61 on Dec. 5, 2000 in Seattle and 71-70 on Dec. 29, 2001 in St. Louis. Seattle was the site of one of Romar’s great coach- ing moments. As an assistant coach, he helped guide UCLA to an 89-78 triumph over Arkansas in Lorenzo with wife Leona and daughters Terra, Tavia and Taylor. the Kingdome to win the 1995 NCAA Champion- 20 • 2003–04 Washington Basketball • Coaching Staff Lorenzo Romar, continued Prior to coaching at Saint Louis, Romar amassed a 80 assists and 35 steals. He shot 51 percent from three-year record of 42-44 (.488) at Pepperdine, the field and 72 percent from the free throw line. Fast Facts including 36 wins in his final two seasons with the As a senior in 1979-80, Romar played all 28 games Birthdate .............................. November 13, 1958 Waves. He took control of the Waves’ program in for the Huskies who posted an 18-10 record, in- Birthplace ................................ South Gate, Calif. February 1996 and quickly established himself as cluding a 9-9 conference mark. Washington par- Age ..................................................................... 45 a top recruiter, bringing in talent that would guide ticipated in the National Invitation Tournament. Colleges ............................. Washington, 1978-80 the Waves to a postseason appearance in 1999. He led all UW playmakers with 99 assists while ........ Cerritos (Calif.) Community College, 1976-78 In his second year, Romar staged a significant 11- averaging 9.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. ......... Cincinnati, 1992 (Bachelor’s-criminal justice) game improvement over the previous season to High School ............ Pius X HS (Compton, Calif.) Romar served as team captain his senior year. He finish with a 17-10 record and earn a second-place Family .............................................. Wife: Leona was the recipient of the Most Inspirational Award finish in the West Coast Conference, just one game ....... Daughters ........................................... Terra both years, an honor voted on by his teammates. behind champion Gonzaga. Pepperdine was the .......................................................... Tavia & Taylor second-most improved NCAA Division I team in The Golden State Warriors selected Romar in the in 1997-98, trailing only Connecticut. seventh round of the 1980 NBA Draft with the As A Collegiate Head Coach 141st pick overall. He totaled 1,731 points (5.9 In his final season at the school, Romar guided Years School Record Pct. average) and distributed 1,022 assists (3.5 aver- Pepperdine to a 19-13 record and a bid to the 1997-99 Pepperdine 42–44 .488 age) during 291 career regular-season NBA games. Postseason NIT, the Waves’ first postseason ap- 2000-02 Saint Louis 51–44 .537 His five-year NBA career included stints with pearance in five years. 2003-present Washington 10-17 .370 Golden State (1981-84), Milwaukee (1984) and Totals (7 years) 103–105 .495 The season after his departure, Pepperdine earned Detroit (1984-85). an NCAA Tournament berth with the majority of Following the 1984-85 season, Romar joined Ath- As A Collegiate Assistant Coach players Romar recruited. One of those players was letes in Action (AIA), the athletic division of Brandon Armstrong who was the 23rd selection Campus Crusade for Christ which is a non-de- Years School Record Pct. overall in the 2001 NBA Draft by Houston and nominational ministry that began in 1951 at UCLA. 1993-96 UCLA 97–28 .776 now plays for New Jersey. Totals (4 years) 97–28 .776 Romar started 224 of 233 games during his seven Prior to his stint at Pepperdine, Romar was the top years as a player for AIA. • Participated in five NCAA Tournaments, four as an assistant under Jim Harrick at UCLA from 1992- assistant coach at UCLA between 1993-96 and one 1996. There he recruited such talent as Toby In 1991-92, he averaged 24.4 points, 5.9 assists as the head coach at Saint Louis in 2000. Bailey, Cameron Dollar, J.R. Henderson, Kris and 1.8 steals while shooting 54.5 percent from the field, including 49.5 percent from beyond the 3- • Took two teams into postseason play during his six Johnson, Jelani McCoy and Charles O’Bannon.