Washington Basketball Season Comes to a Merciful End

Lorenzo Romar looks like he has at least one more year to turnaround the most disastrous basketball season for Washington since 1960 when coach John Grayson could only muster two wins in the Pac-12 predecessor AAWU league.

The tremendously disappointing end to Washington's season finally happened in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament in a 78-73 loss to USC. Without Fultz they had little chance of winning any more games and even had Fultz played in the Pac-12 tournament Washington likely would not have made it past the first or second round.

Markelle Fultz quickly declared for the draft as expected. With Washington's season over Fultz now can concentrate on locking in his #1 draft pick status while others risk injury playing for glory during March Madness. Though Fultz will leave the program without leaving a mark beyond his astounding individual performance, his presence likely prevented an already embarrassing team from being even more sad. Fultz holds the second highest all-time scoring average for the Huskies only being eclipsed by Bob Houbregs in 1953. His impressive all-around game scoring over 20 points and averaging over 5 assists and 5 rebounds every game lived up to the hype of his potential greatness. His skills are already at a level where he will make an immediate contribution in the NBA. It is unfortunate the other players on Washington's squad were unable to support such a bright star in winning games.

Lorenzo Romar has one more year to turn the program around likely due to the top five class and potential back-to-back #1 draft pick with Michael Porter Jr. gracing the presence of Washington's court next year. With the all-star freshman squad entering next season Romar will have no more excuses to justify poor performance.

It's hard to understand how a program with a potential #1 draft pick could do so poorly. Many fans believe poor coaching is to blame and are disappointed in the continued tenure of Lorenzo Romar after such a disappointing season. However, some of these same fans are cautiously optimistic that the team can do much better next year with a more rounded all-star class that is headlined by a 5-star recruit and a strong supporting cast of top 100 recruits. Even though no decision is final in retaining Lorenzo Romar, the three million dollar buyout is another major factor that will likely prevent the administration from cutting the cord this year. Changes will be expected though and it would not be a surprise to see Romar make some adjustments to his staff in order to calm the masses who are calling for his termination. This is no guarantee but would be a good political move for Romar to show he is dedicated to make changes in order to win and not just sign flashy recruits who will underperform in the Pac-12 standings.

I think many Washington fans are glad this train wreck of a season is finally over.

It's hard to imagine that the prediction by @boettger_eli that Washington would win less than 10 games would come true, but indeed the Nostradamus of Pac-12 basketball was right. Even with Fultz, Washington failed to demonstrate they could play their way out of a wet paper bag this season. Mercifully, we now can focus on draft day when Fultz will be the first man off the board and Washington fans can cheer for the next NBA legend who proudly wore the W for at least one season.