There have been more statistically prolific classes that have grown under his guidance, but Washington men’s basketball coach Lorenzo Romar said this year’s group may be the most special he’s had.

There have been more successful four-year guys. Brandon Roy, Bobby Jones and Mike Jensen, along with transfer Jamaal Williams, are viewed as the class that changed the basketball culture at the UW. They guided Washington to back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances, three straight trips to the NCAA’s, and Roy’s jersey even hangs from the rafters, the ultimate honor for a Husky player.

But this year’s seniors, Jon Brockman, Justin Dentmon and Artem Wallace, make up the first class of players that Romar, now in his sixth season as the program’s head man, courted through the entire recruiting process and through all four years of their playing careers.

And after disappointing sophomore and junior years, they’re finishing where they started as freshmen — higher, actually. Even Roy’s teams never won a Pac-10 title, something the Huskies locked up with a win over Washington State Mar. 7.

Senior day came and went with the usual emotions, as even the rugged Brockman admitted to getting a little choked up as he was honored with his fellow classmates before UW’s final home game.

“You don’t really imagine yourself in those shoes,” Brockman said of the senior day festivities. “You think you’re going to be here a while and it’s going to last a lot longer and you’ve got a lot of time. Then you’re standing out there.”

But the long goodbyes have yet to be said. The Huskies are saving those for when this season actually ends, which for the first time in three years will be at the NCAA Tournament. There’s more work to do for this group, one that has carved its own path into the school’s record books.

Brockman will leave as the school’s all-time leading rebounder, and is now second on Washington’s all-time scoring list.

He’s been named to three all-conference teams and put on more national player-of-the-year watch lists than you can count. But to Romar, Brockman’s legacy won’t just be what he’s done on the court.

“He means far more than anyone would ever imagine,” Romar said. “[People] don’t see him in the airports. They don’t see him in the locker room, rallying the troops together all the time. Those things rub off. They can’t help but rub off. He has meant quite a bit. He’s been a staple for us.”

Then there’s Dentmon, who finished an up-and-down career with All-Pac-10 first-team honors, running away with the conference’s newly-added Most Improved Player award. Born to a 13-year-old mother in Carbondale, Ill., Dentmon overcame a learning disability and a non-qualifying test score out of high school and will graduate — easily, Romar emphasizes — with an art degree from the UW that he earned in four years.

“I’m proud to say that I’ve come a long way and overcome adversity very well,” Dentmon said, redirecting the focus to the postseason that still lies ahead. “I’m pleased, but I’m not satisfied.”

There was a time when some questioned whether Dentmon would stay with the program. Criticism came from all corners, as his inconsistency was one reason the Huskies missed out on the postseason the last two years. But the 5-foot-11 guard stuck it out, and will leave as the school’s 13th leading scorer of all time, its third-best assist man and is second on the UW’s all-time steals list.

“His story, to me, is as remarkable as anyone’s,” Romar said. “To watch him come from a small town, with a tough background and come out clear across the country and in his second year things began not to go well, didn’t leave, stuck with it, kept his head up, and you can just see how from his freshman year to now how much he has matured and grown up.

“That stuff is priceless. People ask sometimes, ‘Would you ever want to consider coaching in the NBA?’ You don’t get that in the NBA. You don’t get to see someone’s life change, and you’re around them every day and you go through that with them. That is a gratifying experience.”

If Dentmon’s story is the most remarkable, Wallace finishes a close second. The 6-foot-8 forward came to America from St. Petersburg, Russia when he was 14, departing for his new home the night after his mother died.

Even though a knee injury took Wallace out of the rotation this season after he started 25 games as a junior, he’s taken it in stride.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen that way, but the injury came and there’s nothing you can do about it at that point,” Wallace said. “It’s all about the team. I’m enjoying it as much as if I was playing.”

But if there’s one thing Romar is happiest about, it’s how this class will be remembered after experiencing the highs and lows of the emotional spectrum.

“We have a longer investment with these guys than any other group that we’ve had,” Romar said. “To see them experience the Sweet Sixteen their freshman year, and then miss out the next two years, it’s just even more special to know in their last year they were Pac-10 champs.”