Speaker Bios
 

Lorenzo Romar – After just six years at the helm, Lorenzo Romar has elevated Washington to the elite level of college basketball. The charismatic coach has directed the Husky program to 109 wins since 2004, the second-best five-year record in school history, including back-to-back Sweet 16 berths (2005 & 2006) for the first time in school history. Prior to becoming the head coach at Washington, Romar served as head coach at Pepperdine and St. Louis University, and as an assistant with UCLA where he built a reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters and helped guide the Bruins to the 1995 NCAA championship. 

Brian Katz – The new head coach at Sacramento State University, Brian Katz spent the past 15 years as the highly successful head coach at Delta College in Stockton where he posted a 348-138 overall record (72% winning percentage). While at Delta, he was named Conference Coach of the Year six times, won six conference championships, and had 14 playoff appearances, three Elite Eight appearances and one Final Four appearance. Katz has served as head coach at Lassen College in Susanville, Center High School, Casa Roble High School, and as an assistant for two years at Santa Clara University. More importantly, of the 115 players who have competed on Katz’s teams at the community college level, 109 have advanced to four-year institutions with 66 earning scholarships. 

Dan Monson – Widely regarded as a coach that successfully resurrects programs, Dan Monson enters his second season as the head coach at Long Beach State. Prior to coming to Long Beach State, he spent seven-plus years at the University of Minnesota where he took over a program with NCAA sanctions and led the Gophers to post-season play in five seasons. Monson’s head coaching career started spectacularly at Gonzaga where, in his second year as head coach in 1998-99, he began the school’s remarkable rise to national prominence with a 28-7 record and an Elite Eight appearance.

Frank Allocco – In 11 years as head coach at nationally-prominent De La Salle High School in Concord, Frank Allocco has captured two state championships and 11 league titles, losing a total of only three games in league play. Under his tenure, De La Salle has become one of the elite high school programs in the United States. Before arriving at De La Salle in 1997, Allocco won his first state championship at Northgate High School in Concord, and he is the only coach in California history to win a state championship at two different schools. He has an 88% overall career winning percentage – the third best all-time – winning 470 games while losing only 66 in 17 years as a head coach.  

Sue Phillips – In 16 years as the head girls’ coach at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Sue Phillips has won four state championships and has compiled an astonishing overall record of 458-67 (87% winning percentage). At Mitty, Phillips has also won 14 league titles and she was selected in 2003 by American Quarterly Basketball as one of five high school coaches in the country “you should know.” She served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at UC Berkeley in 2000, and was Mitty’s head softball coach for six seasons, winning a Central Coast Section title in 1998.