Lorenzo Romar

Lorenzo Romar

Romar celebrates Washington's 2011 Pac-10 tournament championship.
Loyola Marymount Lions
Position	Assistant coach
League	West Coast Conference
Personal information
Born	(1958-11-13) November 13, 1958 South Gate, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	171 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High school	Saint Pius X (Downey, California)
College	Cerritos College (1976–1978) Washington (1978–1980)
NBA draft	1980: 7th round, 141st overall pick
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Playing career	1980–1985
Position	Point guard
Number	18, 5, 14
Coaching career	1992–present
Career history
As player:
1980–1983	Golden State Warriors
1983–1984	Milwaukee Bucks
1984	Detroit Pistons
1984	Tampa Bay Thrillers
1984–1985	Evansville Thunder
As coach:
1992–1996	UCLA (assistant)
1996–1999	Pepperdine
1999–2002	Saint Louis
2002–2017	Washington
2017–2018	Arizona (associate HC)
2018–2024	Pepperdine
2024–present	Loyola Marymount (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player: CBA All-Star (1985) As coach: CBI champion (2021) 2× Pac-12 regular season champion (2009, 2012) 3× Pac-10 tournament champion (2005, 2010, 2011) C-USA tournament champion (2000) 3× Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2005, 2009, 2012)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount Lions, a position he has held since 2024. He previously was the head men's basketball coach at Pepperdine University, a position he held from 1996 to 1999 and resumed from 2018 to 2024. Romar also served as the head men's basketball coach at Saint Louis University from 1999 to 2002 and the University of Washington from 2002 to 2017.

Playing career

Romar played college basketball at Cerritos College from 1976 to 1978 and then for Washington from 1978 to 1980. After college, he was drafted by the Golden State Warriors and spent five years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Following his NBA career, Romar finished the 1984–85 season in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) with the Tampa Bay Thrillers and Evansville Thunder. He averaged 6.3 points and 3.7 assists and was named a CBA All-Star in his lone season in the league.

Coaching career

Early years

After the NBA, Romar played and coached for Athletes in Action. Romar was then hired as an assistant coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under head 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 Washington in 2002.

Washington

Romar was credited with 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, Washington 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, but were ousted by Louisville. In 2006, Washington 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 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 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 on November 14, 2014, Romar passed Marv Harshman 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. and Jontay Porter, 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 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's staff at Arizona 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 had reportedly intercepted phone conversations about Miller talking about paying Deandre Ayton 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, securing the program's first-ever postseason championship. Romar was fired on March 4, 2024.

Loyola Marymount

On March 19, 2024, it was announced that Romar had joined Stan Johnson's staff at Loyola Marymount as an assistant coach.

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, he and his wife 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

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Pepperdine Waves (West Coast Conference) (1996–1999)
1996–97	Pepperdine	6–21	4–10	T–6th
1997–98	Pepperdine	17–10	9–5	2nd
1998–99	Pepperdine	19–13	9–5	T–2nd	NIT first round
Saint Louis Billikens (Conference USA) (1999–2002)
1999–00	Saint Louis	19–14	7–9	T–7th	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2000–01	Saint Louis	17–14	8–8	7th
2001–02	Saint Louis	15–16	9–7	5th
Saint Louis:		51–44 (.537)	24–24 (.500)
Washington Huskies (Pacific-10/Pac-12 Conference) (2002–2017)
2002–03	Washington	10–17	5–13	9th
2003–04	Washington	19–12	12–6	2nd	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2004–05	Washington	29–6	14–4	2nd	NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2005–06	Washington	26–7	13–5	2nd	NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2006–07	Washington	19–13	8–10	7th
2007–08	Washington	16–17	7–11	8th	CBI first round
2008–09	Washington	26–9	14–4	1st	NCAA Division I Round of 32
2009–10	Washington	26–10	11–7	3rd	NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2010–11	Washington	24–11	11–7	3rd	NCAA Division I Round of 32
2011–12	Washington	24–11	14–4	1st	NIT semifinal
2012–13	Washington	18–16	9–9	T–6th	NIT first round
2013–14	Washington	17–15	9–9	T–8th
2014–15	Washington	16–15	5–13	11th
2015–16	Washington	19–15	9–9	T–6th	NIT second round
2016–17	Washington	9–22	2–16	11th
Washington:		298–195 (.604)	143–127 (.530)
Pepperdine Waves (West Coast Conference) (2018–2024)
2018–19	Pepperdine	16–18	6–10	8th
2019–20	Pepperdine	16–16	8–8	6th
2020–21	Pepperdine	15–12	7–6	4th	CBI champions
2021–22	Pepperdine	7–25	1–15	10th
2022–23	Pepperdine	9–21	2–14	10th
2023–24	Pepperdine	13–20	5–11	T–6th
Pepperdine:		118–157 (.429)	51–84 (.378)
Total:		467–397 (.541)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Awards and honors

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

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1980–81	Golden State	53	–	13.7	.412	.333	.683	1.1	2.6	0.5	0.1	4.1
1981–82	Golden State	79	11	15.9	.504	.200	.823	1.2	2.9	0.8	0.2	6.2
1982–83	Golden State	82	64	26.0	.465	.303	.743	1.7	5.5	1.2	0.1	7.6
1983–84	Golden State	3	0	5.0	.400	.000	.500	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	2.0
1983–84	Milwaukee	65	9	15.5	.460	.125	.722	1.4	3.0	0.8	0.1	6.0
1984–85	Milwaukee	4	0	4.0	.125	.000	.000	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.5
1984–85	Detroit	5	0	7.0	.250	.000	1.000	0.0	2.0	0.8	0.0	1.8
Career		291	84	17.8	.464	.211	.749	1.3	3.5	0.8	0.1	5.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1983–84	Milwaukee	13	–	5.2	.450	.000	.636	0.2	1.2	0.0	0.0	1.9
Career		13	–	5.2	.450	.000	.636	0.2	1.2	0.0	0.0	1.9

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1978–79	Washington	27	–	19.8	.508	–	.721	1.4	–	–	–	6.0
1979–80	Washington	28	–	26.9	.489	–	.763	1.9	3.5	1.0	0.1	9.3
Career		55	–	23.4	.496	–	.745	1.6	3.5	1.0	0.1	7.7

External links

• Pepperdine profile
• Arizona profile