Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958) 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 became the 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. With a season-opening win over South Carolina State, Romar passed Marv Harshman as the second-winningest coach in UW history.
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.
On March 9, 2009, Romar was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for leading the Huskies to their first outright conference title since 1953.
Lorenzo Romar is married to Leona Romar, with whom he has three daughters—Terra, Tavia and Taylor. [1]. 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. [2]
In 2016, Coach Romar recruited his long-time friend Michael Porter Sr. to join the Huskies as an assistant coach. Michael Porter Sr. brings his two sons, Michael Porter Jr. and Jontay Porter, as commits to the University of Washington. Michael Porter Jr. is the number two recruit in the espn top 100 high school basketball players of the 2017 entering class. Jontay Porter is a 4-star recruit in the 2018 entering class. [3]
