Lorenzo Romar Reportedly Fired as Washington Basketball Coach

Washington basketball has reportedly decided to part ways with head coach Lorenzo Romar after 15 years, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN.Percy Allen of the Seattle Times confirmed Wednesday's news.Nicole Auerbach of USA Today provided a quick reasoning of the decision from the athletic director:The Huskies finished the 2016-17 season just 9-22 overall and 2-16 in the Pac-12. This is despite having Markelle Fultz on the roster. DraftExpressprojects the freshman guard to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft.Romar has a 298-196 record for Washington since coming to the school 2002. He has led the team to three Pac-12 tournament titles and two regular-season titles.His teams have gone to the Sweet 16 three times, including as a No. 1 seed in 2005 and a No. 11 seed in 2010.Unfortunately, the squad hasn't made the NCAA tournament in the last six seasons, failing to reach 20 wins in each of the last five. The 22 losses this season tied for the most in school history.Bringing in talent has never been a problem for Romar, even before Fultz. Washington had two first-round picks in the 2016 NBA draft in Marquese Chriss and Dejounte Murray. Isaiah Thomas, Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy, Terrence Ross and Spencer Hawes are just some of the NBA stars who played for the Huskies.Fultz was among those defending the coach after the news:Michael Porter Jr.the No. 5 overall player in the 2017 class, perScoutis committed to the Huskies for next season.However, his father, Michael Porter Sr., was named an assistant coach for Washington before the 2016-17 campaign. Per Paul Biancardi of ESPN,new Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin could change things:It will be difficult for the Huskies to find a recruiter as good as Romar, but they will hope to find more consistency on the court going forward.
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