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NCAA Basketball rumors: Steve Lavin emerging as candidate at Washington

By Brad Berreman

Jan 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Fox Sports analyst and former UCLA Bruins coach Steve Lavin reacts during a NCAA basketball game between the UCLA Bruins and the Southern California Trojans at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Fox Sports analyst and former UCLA Bruins coach Steve Lavin reacts during a NCAA basketball game between the UCLA Bruins and the Southern California Trojans at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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As the University of Washington looks for a new men’s basketball coach, Steve Lavin could make a return to the Pac-12.

With the worst season of his tenure (9-22, 2-16 in conference play), and a sixth straight year without a trip to the NCAA Tournament, Lorenzo Romar was fired after 15 seasons as coach at the University of Washington last Wednesday.

With notable openings at Indiana, Cal, LSU and now Oklahoma State, the appeal of the job at Washington is becoming easy to overlook. The pool of candidates for those jobs now of course includes former Indiana coach Tom Crean, and it can be assumed Washington has some interest.

But another, familiar candidate may be on the list too. According to the Seattle Times, former UCLA coach Steve Lavin has emerged as a candidate at Washington. Lavin is doing color commentary for the NCAA Tournament this weekend, and as expected he declined comment about the Washington job when asked by ESPN.

Lavin spent seven seasons (1996-2003) as head coach at UCLA, with at least 21 wins and an NCAA Tournament trip in each of his first six seasons. The Bruins didn’t just go to the Big Dance under Lavin, they won games, making the Sweet 16 five times and the Elite Eight once. A 10-19 season in 2002-2003 got Lavin fired though, and he later served as head coach at St. John’s for five seasons (2010-2015).

Lavin was also an assistant at UCLA from 1991-1996, with a four season overlap serving on Jim Harrick’s staff with Romar. It’s unclear if the two have a close friendship all these years later, or if that would have any effect on Lavin’s interest in the Washington job. But it’s understandable if Lavin has some hesitancy about replacing Romar if they are close, publicly if not also privately.

Related Story: 3 potential new jobs for former Washington coach Lorenzo Romar

With a .633 combined winning percentage (226-131 record) at UCLA and St. John’s, and assuming continuing good health after a cancer diagnosis during his second season at St. John’s (2011-12), Lavin could be a candidate for virtually any open job. It’s clearly lower stress to work as a broadcaster, but a possible return to the Pac-12 may be hard for Lavin to turn away from.