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Assistant coach Raphael Chillious returns to Washington

Raphael Chillious

After one season at Villanova assistant coach Raphael Chillious has returned to the Washington program, the Pac-12 school announced in a press release Thursday.

As a member of Lorenzo Romar’s staff from 2010-12 Chillious helped the Huskies win three conference titles (one regular season and two tournament titles), and the combination of his return and the hiring of highly regarded assistant T.J. Otzelberger (formerly at Iowa State) could be the boost that the Washington program needs.

“I’m excited to have Chills back,” Romar said in the release. “He is very familiar with our program. The fact that he was here with us once and then went away, he has an advantage this time around in that he can make an impact from day one and he really gets what it takes to be successful at the University of Washington.”

During his first stint in Seattle, Chillious played an important role in the development of the Husky guards with current Sacramento King Isaiah Thomas being one of the benefactors.

Chillious’ return will be key in that area as Washington will rely on a perimeter nucleus that features C.J. Wilcox, Andrew Andrews and McDonald’s All-American Nigel Williams-Goss this season.

Chillious didn’t spend much time at Villanova, but he’s anticipating that coaching in a conference that has a style much different than the Pac-12 will benefit him in his second run as an assistant under Romar.

“It was a different perspective playing, coaching and recruiting in the Big East. It’s very different from the Pac-12,” Chillous said in the release. “That has given me more tools in my coaching tool box. It was hard leaving those guys last year, but now I’m back.”

Raphielle can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.