The Washington Huskies have refuted a report saying Lorenzo Romar will be back as head coach of the men’s basketball team next season.
Yahoo’s Pat Forde wrote about the college basketball coaching carousel on Monday and addressed the situations of Romar, Thad Matta and Mark Fox. Forde said that Washington has decided it will retain Romar despite the team having a horrendous season. He said the school is unwilling to pay Romar’s $3.5 million buyout and adds that Romar is well-liked.
But contacted about the Forde report about Romar’s job being safe, a Washington spokesperson said no decision had been made about the coach’s future.
Pat Forde reports Lorenzo Romar will return to Huskies, but UW spokesperson says no decision yet and "we're evaluating the program."
— Percy Allen (@percyallen) March 7, 2017
Romar had a strong stretch as Huskies head coach from 2008-2012 where he led the team to at least 24 wins four seasons in a row. Since then the team has slipped to slightly above .500, and they’re 9-21 this season. The Huskies are likely to miss the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season.
One thing helping Romar’s chances of keeping his job is that he has a top recruit coming in next season, so the school might not want to jeopardize that relationship.
