Well Lorenzo Romar's job just got a whole lot tougher next year. In a somewhat unexpected move depending on who you are, fab freshman Dejounte Murray and Marquese Chriss are jumping to the NBA.

It may be unsurprising as both are considered to be first-round picks, Chriss being more widely considered for the lottery while Murray may be included in that group depending on what mock you read. Dawg nation had been hoping at least one of the two would stay for their sophomore season, especially as both put up big numbers for freshman this year as secondary options behind Pac-12 scoring leader senior Andrew Andrews.

No one can criticize a young man for taking an opportunity to seize their dream when the opportunity presents itself, but bot hcould definitely have benefitted from an increased role and possibly more exposure that would come with a potentially more successful season. 

This is especially the case with Murray, as his is rail thin at 6-foot-5 and 170 pounds, with a questionable jump shot. He eerily follows the mold for another former Washington one-and-done, Tony Wroten. Wroten was picked at the back-end of the first round in 2012, and has bounced around with a few mediocre teams since. Like Murray his jump shot was almost non-existent, but the argument was that by jumping to the pros he would be able to focus on improving it full-time.

Both are local Seattle products, however Murray was not recruited with the idea he would be one-and-done, unlike Wroten. Neither was Chriss, it was thought he too would stay on campus past his freshman year.

That said, no one can really predict was a kid will do once the NBA is within reach, and its a coach's job to recruit the best. Period. But Romar's best seasons naturally have been with players that stayed in Montlake 3+ years. Think Nate Robinson and Isaiah Thomas; or Brandon Roy, Jon Brockman and Will Conroy who stayed all four. All those players took the Huskies to the tournament before moving on to the next level.

Washington has it's share of one-and-dones, like Chriss and Murray there's Wroten and Spencer Hawes. None of them played in a game bigger than the NIT. Romar isn't like John Calipari or Mike Krzyzewski, he has not shown the ability to exploit NBA-ready talent in one season. Which is no knock, rather he is better at nurturing talent and coaching them up to have productive careers at the next level. Chriss and Murray would have been wise to recognize they may be better off staying another year or two.

Nate Robinson and Isaiah Thomas were both undersized 2-guards who showed they could play point at Washington. Robinson of course has gone on to be a Slam Dunk champ, but more importantly he's a reliable veteran commodity. Thomas, despite being the last pick in his draft, is now an all-star.

Roy thought about jumping straight from Garfield to the pros, but after staying through his senior year with Romar, became the sixth overall pick and a top-15 if not top-10 talent in the NBA. Unfortunately his knees were not top-10, which derailed his career.

Even Terrance Ross, by staying two years at UW became a lottery pick.

Hopefully Romar is incorporating that into his recruiting pitch, as it is his best asset as a coach. And he needs those players if he is to save his job.

Photo: Flickr/Dave Sizer