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Lorenzo Romar returning to Pepperdine for second stint as coach

Lorenzo Romar, currently an asssistant coach at Arizna, will return to Pepperdine for a second time as the Waves’ head coach, the Pepperdine, Calif., school announced Monday. (Chris Pietsch / Associated Press)
Associated Press

MALIBU, Calif. – Lorenzo Romar is returning to Pepperdine for a second stint as men’s basketball coach.

Athletic director Steve Potts said Monday that Romar will be back in Malibu as soon as Arizona’s season ends. Romar is currently in his first season as associate head coach at Arizona; the Wildcats are in the NCAA Tournament.

The 59-year-old coach previously guided the Waves from 1996-99, going 42-44 in his first head coaching job.

Romar says he preferred to stay on the West Coast and his comfort level with Potts and university President Andrew Benton “played a huge role” in his decision to return to the campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Romar left Malibu to become head coach at Saint Louis and then spent 15 years in the same job at Washington, where he was a three-time Pac-12 coach of the year. He was an assistant at UCLA under Jim Harrick when the Bruins won the 1995 national championship. His career head coaching record is 391-284.

Romar, who is from Compton, California, was a two-year starter at Washington and played five seasons in the NBA with Golden State, Milwaukee and Detroit.