Newly hired associate head coach Raphael Chillious will be a new face on the Storrs campus but he's certainly familiar with the UConn basketball program.

Chillious, who's spent seven of the last eight seasons on Lorenzo Romar's staff at the University of Washington, has strong ties to the UConn athletic department.

He's known UConn coach Kevin Ollie for 20 years, once coached former Husky Josh Boone at West Nottingham Academy in Maryland and has a connection to Morgan Valley, a three-time national champion with the UConn women now serving as an assistant at Washington. He also once taught Joe Pereira, an assistant men's hockey coach at UConn.

"So there was all these degrees of separation," Chillious said in a release. "I felt like, 'This was supposed to happen.'"

UConn announced the hiring of Chillious on Tuesday afternoon. He replaces veteran coach Glen Miller, who was let go by Ollie earlier this month.

Chillious returns to Connecticut where he coached and served as co-athletic director at South Kent from 2003-08.

"It's going to sound cliche, but the thing that made UConn attractive to me is UConn – one of the best brand names in college basketball, four national championships," Chillious said. "Historically, UConn recruits high-level student-athletes and produces big-time pros.

"Then, obviously, there is Kevin Ollie with his passion for UConn basketball and passion in general and his vision for this program – winning championships. I've had a relationship with KO since 1996, so it's not like I'm coming to work for somebody I don't know."

When Ollie and Chillious ran into each other over the years on the recruiting trail, they'd talk about possibly being on the same coaching staff someday. The timing was finally right with the departure of Miller.

Chillious, 45, has a reputation as a high-level recruiter. Ollie praised him for his energy, developmental skills, knowledge of the game and for creating a winning culture wherever he's been.

"We've known each other since I was in the CBA and we've been friends ever since," Ollie said. "He knows how to develop players. He's a coach who can get players ready for the NBA, not only professionally on the court, but professionally off the court as well. I'm grateful that the timing was right for us to work together on a professional level."

Last season, Chillious served as Washington's associate head coach under Romar, who was fired earlier this month after going 9-22 overall and failing to reach the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight season. Chillious helped recruit the nation's seventh-ranked recruiting class in 2015.

"Raphael is a person with a lot of energy, always upbeat," Romar said. "He is a very, very good recruiter, well-connected. He is very good on the bench because he has such a good understanding of the game. Plus, he's a really great guy."

In the past, Chillious has coached and developed several future NBA players, including Celtics standout Isaiah Thomas.

Boone, who played at UConn from 2003-06 and for the New Jersey Nets (2006-10), said Chillious played an influential role in his career. Chillious was in San Antonio when UConn won the 2004 national championship.

"He really helped me grow as a player and a person as a father figure for me," Boone said. "He's very knowledgeable about the game. He's a really good skills man – during the summers when I was at UConn and especially when I was getting ready for the NBA Draft, I worked with him. He's a very demanding coach, but he has a good way of getting the best out of his players and he's coached some very good players."

g.keefe@theday.com