After experiencing what Brian Floyd has described as "the worst and most difficult" season of his career, University of Washington Huskies men's basketball coach Lorenzo Romar is expected to become a candidate to succeed Kurt Rambis as head coach of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Yahoo Sports reporter Adrian Wojnarowski.
Timberwolves general manager David Kahn has apparently decided to fire Rambis after tomorrow's 2011 NBA Draft and is starting the information gathering process for his replacements.
Romar, who just completed his ninth year at Washington, has never coached in the NBA but was drafted by the Golden State Warriors and played for three teams during his career from 1980-1985. He has been lauded as one of the classiest coaches in the nation and has taken his role as "teacher" as seriously as any, as demonstrated by his handling of Venoy Overton's situation this past year. And in fact, that might bode well for the Minnesota job - as a young team with plenty of room for growth, Romar's coaching style could be as good as any candidate they'd find.
Obviously, it would be a blow to the Washington program to lose a coach of his stature, but if there was ever a time to transition to a new era, this might be it: with Overton, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Justin Holiday, and Isaiah Thomas, all gone next season, it would be as convenient a time for a change as any.