Fansided

Lorenzo Romar going back to Pepperdine as head coach

By Brad Berreman

TUCSON, AZ - JANUARY 29: Head coach Lorenzo Romar of the Washington Huskies reacts during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on January 29, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - JANUARY 29: Head coach Lorenzo Romar of the Washington Huskies reacts during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on January 29, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Lorenzo Romar was going to be a head coach again at some point, and now he’s going back to Pepperdine.

Lorenzo Romar’s run at Washington was lengthy (15 seasons) and reasonably successful, but a 9-22 record in 2016-17 and six straight seasons without an NCAA Tournament bid led to him being relieved of his duties. After a season alongside Sean Miller as associate head coach at Arizona, according to multiple reports, Romar is expected to be hired as Pepperdine’s next coach.

The Waves finished just 6-26 this season, with a 2-16 mark in West Coast Conference play. Head coach Marty Wilson resigned before the end of the regular season, and Pepperdine never won more than 18 games in any of his seven seasons.

After serving as an assistant at UCLA under Jim Harrick, Romar got his first head coaching job at Pepperdine in 1996. He had a 42-44 record over three seasons at Pepperdine, but the team went 36-23 over his final two seasons with an NIT bid in his last year. After three seasons as head coach at Saint Louis, Romar made the move to Washington.

Romar spoke of his return to Pepperdine via a statement.

"My comfort level with [athletics director] Steve Potts and President [Andrew] Benton played a huge role in my decision to return to Pepperdine,” Romar said in a statement. “I grew up in Southern California, and at this point in my career it was my preference to stay on the West Coast. The Christian mission that Pepperdine stands for, its values, the fact that they are committed to putting forth the resources necessary to allow Pepperdine to get back to the highest level where they once were, all this is very exciting to me."

Pepperdine has confirmed the move to hire Romar.

Next: 2018 NCAA Tournament: 5 biggest snubs

Romar is expected to remain with Arizona through the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats are the No. 4 seed in the South Region, with their Round of 64 game against No. 13 seed Buffalo on Thursday night in Boise, Idaho.