Lorenzo Romar joined Sean Miller’s staff at Arizona in April of 2017 as associate head coach after 15 seasons at the helm of the University of Washington program. He brought with him 21 years of head coaching experience and national recruiting prowess to Tucson.
Romar led the Huskies from 2002 to 2017 and became the second-winningest coach in program history with 298 wins. The former UW standout took the program to new heights, which included a pair of regular season conference and conference tournament championships while earning a trio of Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors. Washington went on to six NCAA Tournament appearances during the Romar era, including the 2004-05 Huskies that matched a program record for wins in a season with 29.
UW became a national recruiting power and a hub for player development during Romar’s tenure as the program saw 13 Huskies selected in the NBA Draft, including ten first round picks. The pipeline, built by Romar, from Seattle to the NBA was highlighted by top ten picks Brandon Roy, Spencer Hawes, Terrence Ross and Marquese Chriss with the addition of NBA All-Star Isiah Thomas.
During his tenure in Seattle, Huskies received all-conference honors on 21 occasions with ten all-freshmen selections. Romar coached a pair of Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and the 2006 Conference Player of the Year in Brandon Roy.
His overall head coaching record includes 391 wins over 21 seasons encompassing his time at Pepperdine (1996-99) and Saint Louis (1999-2002). Romar became the first coach in Saint Louis history to win the conference tournament and earn a NCAA Tournament berth in his first season as head coach.
No stranger to the Conference of Champions, Romar spent four seasons as an assistant coach for UCLA from 1992 to 1996 and was a member of the Bruins’ 1995 national championship team. The Southern California native was the top recruiter for UCLA during his time in Los Angeles.
Romar was a basketball letter winner at the University of Washington from 1978 to 1980 before playing five seasons in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks.
The former UW Husky has experience in international coaching as well. He’s been a part of coaching staffs in the 1997 World Championships, 2003 Pan American Games and the 2006 FIBA America Championships.
Romar and his wife, Leona, have three daughters -- Terra, Tavia and Taylor. Taylor, a 2012 graduate of Washington, was a cheerleader. He also became a grandfather for the first time when Tavia gave birth in 2012 to granddaughter, Eden.
