Washington coach Lorenzo Romar has always taken immense pride in the character of his players, so it's no surprise it stung him hard to learn that former guard Venoy Overton was arrested for allegedly pimping out his 18-year-old girlfriend.
In an interview with KJR radio in Seattle, Romar described himself as "crushed" and "disappointed" by Overton's actions. The recent Washington grad had recently pledged to make better decisions after a Jan. 8 incident in which a 16-year-old girl accused him of pressuring her into sex, but King County prosecutors felt the evidence was insufficient to file charges.
"You know you go through battles that those who play for you and come through your program and here at the University of Washington we've been able to win a lot of those battles together," Romar said. "This one here was just very disappointing. You'd like to think everyone is going to reach their potential in all aspects, but every once in awhile it doesn't work that way."
Whether Overton should have played during Pac-10 play and in the NCAA tournament was a subject of heated debate among Washington fans and Seattle-area media. Romar suspended him for the Pac-10 tournament when prosecutors decided in March to charge him only with providing alcohol to a minor.
Would Romar do anything differently? "With the information I had at the time, I am very much at peace with the decision that was made," he said.
What about if he had known some of the things he knows now? "Things would have been a lot different, yes," he admitted.
Romar isn't the only Husky disappointed by Overton's actions. In a Q&A with Seattle Times readers, former Washington star Quincy Pondexter called his former teammate "a good person" and said Overton's spate of legal troubles are "uncharacteristic of what type of person he is."
"I truly wish him the best and that he finds his way," Pondexter said. "I'm praying for him and his situation as well. And you guys all should as well. He's young, and he will learn from these mistakes."
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