Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player. He is the head men's basketball coach at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

, a position he held from 1996 to 1999 and resumed in 2018. Romar also served as the head men's basketball coach at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

from 1999 to 2002 and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

from 2002 to 2017.

Playing career

Romar played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Cerritos College Cerritos College is a public community college in Norwalk, California. It offers degrees and certificates in 87 areas of study in nine divisions. History The college was founded in 1955. It was named after Rancho Los Cerritos, a local r ...

from 1976–78 and then for Washington from 1978 to 1980. After college, he was drafted by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

and spent five years playing in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA).

Career statistics

NBA

=Regular season

= , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" , Golden State , 53 , , - , , 13.7 , , .412 , , .333 , , .683 , , 1.1 , , 2.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" , Golden State , 79 , , 11 , , 15.9 , , .504 , , .200 , , .823 , , 1.2 , , 2.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 6.2 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" , Golden State , 82 , , 64 , , 26.0 , , .465 , , .303 , , .743 , , 1.7 , , 5.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" , Golden State , 3 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .400 , , .000 , , .500 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 65 , , 9 , , 15.5 , , .460 , , .125 , , .722 , , 1.4 , , 3.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .125 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 291 , , 84 , , 17.8 , , .464 , , .211 , , .749 , , 1.3 , , 3.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 5.9

=Playoffs

= , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 13 , , - , , 5.2 , , .450 , , .000 , , .636 , , 0.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 13 , , - , , 5.2 , , .450 , , .000 , , .636 , , 0.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.9

College

, - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 27 , , - , , 19.8 , , .508 , , - , , .721 , , 1.4 , , - , , - , , - , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , - , , 26.9 , , .489 , , - , , .763 , , 1.9 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 9.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 55 , , - , , 23.4 , , .496 , , - , , .745 , , 1.6 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 7.7

Coaching career

Early years

After the NBA, Romar played and coached for

Athletes in Action Athletes in Action (AIA) is an American sports organization founded in 1966. It is the sports ministry of Cru Ministries, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ. History Athletes in Action was started in 1966 by Dave Hannah."Fact Sheet: ...

. Romar was then hired as an assistant coach at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA) under head coach

Jim Harrick James Richard Harrick (born July 25, 1938) is a former American basketball coach. He has been the head coach at UCLA, Pepperdine University, the University of Rhode Island and the University of Georgia over a combined total of 23 seasons. During ...

from 1992 to 1996, and was credited with recruiting many of the players on the 1995 national championship team. Romar became the head coach at

and then at

before taking the job at Washington in 2002.

Washington

Romar was credited for turning around 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,

won the Pac-10 tournament and received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Huskies made their way to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, but were ousted by

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. In 2006,

earned a third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year. After failing to make the NCAA Tournament the next two years, Romar was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for leading the Huskies to their first outright conference title since 1953.

They In Modern English, ''they'' is a third-person pronoun relating to a grammatical subject. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''they'' has five distinct word forms: * ''they'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''them'': the accusat ...

earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, but lost in the Second Round. The Huskies returned to the Sweet Sixteen the following year, but again lost. In 2011, the

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

earned their third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. The trip marked the Huskies' last trip to the Tournament under Romar. With a season-opening win over

South Carolina State South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a me ...

on November 14, 2014, Romar passed

Marv Harshman Marvel Keith Harshman (October 4, 1917 – April 12, 2013) was a college basketball coach, a head coach for forty years in the state of Washington at Pacific Lutheran University, Washington State University, and the University of Washington. Ear ...

to become the second-winningest coach in UW history. After four years of near .500 seasons and five years without an NCAA Tournament appearance, Romar recruited his long-time friend Michael Porter Sr. to join the Huskies as an assistant coach in 2016. Michael Porter Sr. was expected to bring his two sons,

Michael Porter Jr. Michael Lamar Porter Jr. (born June 29, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Missouri Tigers. Porter was ranked as one of ...

and

Jontay Porter Jontay Porter (born November 15, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Missouri Tigers. Porter was previously listed as a recruit under the Class of 20 ...

, as commits to Washington. Michael Porter Jr. was widely considered the No. 1 recruit in the 2017 class. However, on March 15, 2017 following a dismal 9–22 season with future #1 pick

Markelle Fultz Markelle N'Gai Fultz (born May 29, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies before being selected by the Phila ...

leading the team, Romar was fired as head coach at Washington after 15 years. Romar ended his tenure at Washington with a record of 298–195. He made six NCAA Tournaments and three NITs, but had not made the NCAA Tournament in six straight years prior to his firing.

Arizona assistant coach

On April 16, 2017, it was announced that Romar had joined

Sean Miller Sean Edward Miller (born November 17, 1968) is an American college basketball coach who currently serves as head coach of the Xavier Musketeers men's basketball, Xavier Musketeers. He previously was in that position from 2004 to 2009, after whi ...

's staff at

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

as associate head coach. On February 24, 2018, Romar was the interim head coach for one game after news broke the previous day that the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

had reportedly intercepted phone conversations about Miller talking about paying

Deandre Ayton Deandre Edoneille Ayton Sr. (born July 23, 1998) is a Bahamian professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 Conference in the 2017� ...

to come to Arizona. Ayton would be the second straight #1 pick to be coached by Romar for at least one game.

Pepperdine (second stint)

Romar was announced as the new head men's basketball coach at Pepperdine on March 12, 2018, returning for his second stint with the school. On March 24, 2021, Romar's Waves beat Coastal Carolina 84-61 to win the

2021 College Basketball Invitational The 2021 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) was a single-elimination men's college basketball tournament consisting of eight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2021 NCAA Division ...

, securing the program's first-ever postseason championship.

Coaching style

Romar is known by his fellow coaches as one of the top basketball recruiters in the country. Additionally, he is respected as a genuine and optimistic person and was once voted "the opposing coach players would most like to play for" in a Pac-10 poll. In March 2006, Romar was given the prestigious Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" award for outstanding character.

Personal life

Romar is married to Leona Romar, with whom he has three daughters—Terra, Tavia and Taylor. In 2006, Lorenzo Romar and his wife Leona founded the Lorenzo Romar Foundation for the prevention of domestic violence and educational assistance for disadvantaged youth as well as other charitable causes.

Head coaching record

Awards and honors

NCAA champion The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(1995, as assistant coach) * John Wooden "Keys to Life" Award (2006) * Pac-10/12 John R. Wooden Coach of the Year (2005, 2009, 2012)

References

External links

Pepperdine profile

Arizona profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romar, Lorenzo 1958 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Arizona Wildcats men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Los Angeles Cerritos Falcons men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Detroit Pistons players Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Milwaukee Bucks players People from South Gate, California People from Greater Los Angeles Pepperdine Waves men's basketball coaches Point guards Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball coaches UCLA Bruins men's basketball coaches Washington Huskies men's basketball coaches Washington Huskies men's basketball players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople