Lorenzo Romar hired as Arizona associate head coach

Lorenzo Romar was not out of a job long. After 15 seasons as the head coach at Washington, Romar will stay in the Pac-12 as the associate head coach to Sean Miller at Arizona.

Romar is a Southern California native with long-standing recruiting ties to the West Coast. Though he was fired from UW in March, the level of recruiting he maintained throughout his tenure makes him an invaluable asset for Arizona. Prior to Washington, Romar was the head coach for three years each at Saint Louis and Pepperdine.

His first coaching job was a four-year tenure as one of Jim Harrick‘s assistants at UCLA, where he helped recruit members of the Bruins’ 1995 National Championship team.

In 15 years at Washington, Romar coached 13 NBA draft picks. That includes Markelle Fultz, a one-and-done on this past year’s team that may go first overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Romar steps in to replace Joe Pasternack, who was hired last month as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara.