New Pepperdine head basketball coach Lorenzo Romar has added Curtis Allen as an assistant coach, and has hired John Impelman and Gerald Brown in administrative roles. They will join Ken Bone who was named as the associate head coach back on March 13th. Pepperdine’s third assistant position has been filled, but that will not become official until that person’s commitment to his current employer is complete.

Curtis Allen

“Curtis is very knowledgeable and an experienced coach,” said Romar, who was recently named Pepperdine’s head coach for the second time. “He has recruited at a high level for a number of years. He understands me, having played for me, and he understands our system. It’s very gratifying to be able to bring him on staff. I’m really excited to have him here and to be able to work with him.”

Allen also has ties to new associate head coach Ken Bone, having been an assistant for him at both Portland State and Washington State for a total of 11 seasons. Bone was also an assistant on Washington’s staff when Allen was a student-athlete there.

“It’s really exciting being here knowing the both of them, and having played for Coach Romar,” Allen said. “He has such a commitment to his student-athletes on and off the court, and that’s what makes me look forward to working with him. He’s obviously one of the most respected coaches in the country and to be able to work with him on one of the most beautiful campuses in the country is really exciting.”

Allen spent his first five seasons at Washington State (beginning in 2009-10) under Bone, and the last four under Ernie Kent. Among his highlights with the Cougars was a 22-win season in 2010-11 and appearances in the 2011 NIT semifinals and the 2012 CBI championship round. He coached future NBA All-Star Klay Thompson (brother of former Pepperdine standout Mychel Thompson).

He began his coaching career at Portland State under Bone, then followed him to Washington State. Allen was an assistant for four seasons with the Vikings (2005-06 through 2008-09), helping the team post a 77-49 overall record. In both 2008 and 2009, the team won a school-record 23 games, won Big Sky Conference Tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Portland State also won the Big Sky regular-season title in 2008.

Allen, who graduated from Washington in 2005 with a degree in general studies, played four seasons for the Huskies (2001-04), the last two with Romar and Bone as his coaches. He played in the 2004 NCAA Tournament and competed in 117 career games, including 51 starts. He left Washington as its most accurate free throw shooter in school history at 86.7% (202-for-233). He also made 151 three-pointers to rank second all-time. He was eighth in assists (286) and 10th in steals (99).

A native of Tacoma, Washington, Allen’s coaching career began with one year as an assistant coach at University Prep in Seattle before moving on to Portland State.

Allen is married (his wife’s name is Alissa) and they have three sons, Trey, Noah and Jalen.

John Impelman

“John brings a wealth of experience at this university,” said Romar, who was recently named Pepperdine’s head coach for the second time. “He’s very, very competent, and we’re fortunate that he wanted to stay on with us. Gerald played for me and he had so much success at Pepperdine. He was always a very cerebral winner. He’s going to bring something very valuable, that know-how of someone who persevered and carved out a great career for himself. He’s going to bring those same attributes to this program.”

The 2018-19 season will be Impelman’s 10th working with the Pepperdine men’s basketball program. He was a graduate manager in 2008-09 and 2009-10, left for a season and returned as the director of operations in 2011-12. He served as an assistant coach for the past five seasons.

“First and foremost I want to thank Marty Wilson for not only the opportunity he gave me to coach at Pepperdine, but more importantly the daily example he set and the mentorship he has provided me over the years,” Impelman said. “I’m extremely excited to continue on with Coach Romar and the new staff. I’m eager to assist in any way I can to help the program and am confident that my experience at Pepperdine will be an asset moving forward.”

Gerald Brown

Brown was a three-time All-West Coast Conference first team selection for the Waves between 1993-94 and 1997-98, and his final two years at Pepperdine coincided with Romar’s first stint as head coach.

“My time here at Pepperdine as a student was great,” Brown said. “I’m so excited about returning to be a part of Coach Romar’s staff. I enjoyed playing for him and had a great relationship with

For the past three years, Brown has been an assistant coach at Concordia-Irvine. He helped the NCAA Division II school to a 59-27 record, a pair of 20-win seasons and a share of the PacWest Conference regular-season title in 2016.

Previously, he was an assistant coach at Arizona Christian in 2014-15, helping the Firestorm to a school-record 25 wins and the program’s first-ever victory at the NAIA Tournament. He was also the head coach of the Arizona Scorpions of the American Basketball Association and led the Scorpions to the ABA Final Four in 2015.

Brown left Pepperdine #12 on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,467 points (he’s currently #14). He earned All-WCC first team honors in 1995, 1996 and 1998 and the led the Waves in scoring each of those years. In 1996, he led the WCC in scoring at 17.8 points per game. He played on the Waves’ 1994 NCAA Tournament team as a freshman.

Brown, a native of Phoenix, is married (his wife’s name is Jessica) and they have two daughters, Janae and Jaelah.