Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Coach Romar Reportedly Out at Pepperdine

The once-popular UW basketball leader has been in his second stint with the WCC team.

Dan Raley

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Lorenzo Romar, former University of Washington basketball coach and point guard, reportedly has been fired in his second stint at Pepperdine, according to multiple outlets.

This move will come seven years after the Huskies parted ways with Romar, who led the program for 15 seasons, coaching the likes of Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, Isaiah Thomas, Dejounte Murray and current UW assistant coaches Will Conroy and Quincy Pondexter.

Romar, 65, couldn't get it going with the Waves this season, with his current team standing 12-19 entering the West Coast Conference Tournament against Pacific on Thursday. The school has not made any official announcement.

He began his 27-year head-coaching career at Pepperdine in 1997-99, went to Saint Louis and the UW, and then back to the Waves.

Romar has an overall coaching record of 466-396, which includes seven NCAA Tournament appearances, all but one coming at the UW. 

As a former Husky and NBA player, Romar proved extremely popular in Montlake, especially when fielding teams with Roy and Robinson in the lineup. His 29-6 Huskies in the 2004-05 season remain the most successful team in modern times at the school.

His UW teams were a collective 296-195, but he was let go following a 9-22 downturn with a Markelle Fultz-led team in 2016-17 and for going six seasons without an NCAA Tournament berth. He was replaced by Mike Hopkins, who may be let go soon, as well.

Romar coached nine seasons at Pepperdine in his two stints. His Waves coaching staff consists of Ken Bone, the former WSU head coach and a Romar assistant at Washington, and Curtis Allen, who played guard for Romar at the UW.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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