SEATTLE (AP) — On a recent Wednesday night at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Michael Porter Jr. walked out of the locker room with a security detail at his side, pausing only momentarily for a photograph with a fan in a purple Washington hat who had found his way into the hallway behind the court.

Porter had just put on yet another show as the nation's No. 1 high school recruit for the nation's No. 1 high school team. He scored 41 points in a league tournament game on the same court where Washington fans expect Porter to do the same next year after having signed to play for the Huskies.

The idea of Porter — along with fellow prep standouts Jaylen Nowell, Daejon Davis and Blake Harris — playing for the Huskies next season assumes that Washington coach Lorenzo Romar is back as well. But Romar's future is hazy as the Huskies are headed toward likely their worst of his 15 seasons, and a sixth straight season of missing the NCAA Tournament.

Should Romar return, there will likely be clear expectations. If he can't win with possibly the best recruiting class in school history — combined with a core group that played extensively during their freshman and sophomore seasons and should be better suited for complementary roles — it will be clear the Huskies should move on. If he's able to rediscover success, Romar will buoy his chances of someday retiring without leaving — or being told he's leaving — Washington.

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