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Arizona hires former Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar

Wshington v Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - FEBRUARY 10: Head coach Lorenzo Romar of the Washington Huskies looks on in the first half against the Utah Utes at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on February 10, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)

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Arizona announced over the weekend that the program had hired former Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar as associate head coach, with Romar replacing Joe Pasternack on staff. Pasternack is now the head coach at UC Santa Barbara.

“It’s an exciting day for Arizona Basketball to be able to welcome Lorenzo Romar and his family to our basketball family,” said Arizona head coach Sean Miller. “Lorenzo’s accomplishments in this game speak for themselves, including his successful tenure as the head coach at Washington for the last 15 seasons. However, his dedication to his players, passion for this game and impeccable character is what everybody that knows him loves about him. He will no doubt make a significant impact in all aspects of our basketball program as we continue to build and improve in all that we do.”

Romar spent a decade-and-a-half coaching at Washington, and while the Huskies struggled towards the end of his time in Seattle, he was arguably the most successful coach in the history of the program. That was largely due to the fact that he was able to recruit so well. He sent six players to the first round of the NBA Draft in the last six seasons -- that doesn’t include Isaiah Thomas -- and if he hadn’t been fired he could have very well ended up landing the No. 1 picks in the 2017 and 2018 drafts in Markelle Fultz and Michael Porter Jr.

A Southern California native, Romar is one of the nation’s best recruiters, and his addition to a program that is already landing players like Deandre Ayton should be terrifying for west coast teams.

“Of all the potential opportunities that were out there for me, joining the Arizona program was the one that was the most appealing,” Romar said. “I truly believe Sean Miller is one of the best coaches in America. The opportunity to join him, his staff and the rich tradition of Arizona Basketball is something that I’m extremely excited about.”