SEATTLE, April 3 (UPI) -- Washington finally ended its search for a men's basketball coach Wednesday by hiring former Huskies' standout Lorenzo Romar away from Saint Louis.
"We are excited to have Lorenzo come back to the University of Washington and direct our basketball program," athletic director Barbara Hedges said. "Lorenzo is very highly regarded in the coaching profession and I think we are extremely lucky to have him back."
Romar was hired after several big-time coaches took their names out of consideration. The list included Gonzaga's Mark Few, Missouri's Quin Snyder and Minnesota's Dan Monson. Monson came closest to accepting the job.
Romar played for Marv Harshman at Washington and captained the 1979-80 squad to a berth in the National Invitation Tournament.
After playing four seasons in the NBA with Golden State and Milwaukee, he worked as an assistant under Jim Harrick at UCLA from 1992-96 and helped recruit stars Toby Bailey, Cameron Dollar, J.R. Henderson, Jelani McCoy and Charles O'Bannon.
In February 1996, Romar moved up the road as coach at Pepperdine, guiding the Waves to 36 wins and an NIT appearance in his final two seasons. He took the Saint Louis job in March 1999 and promptly led the Billikens to the Conference USA championship in his first season. En route, Saint Louis knocked off top-ranked Cincinnati.
Romar replaces Bob Bender, who resigned last month after nine years at Washington, the third-longest tenure in school history. Bender had three years left on his contract but stepped down after an 11-18 season that included a 5-13 Pac-10 Conference mark.
