Lorenzo played prep basketball at Compton Pius X HS as a 6-1 lefty point guard, who made the Christmas All-Tournament team, but had no college offers. He transferred to Cerritos College, and in his second year the All-Conference player averaged 14 points and 8 assists a game, setting a school record for assists. He received a Pac-8 scholarship to Washington, was a two-year starter and the ‘Most Inspirational Player’ before being a seventh round NBA draft pick of Golden State. He played in the NBA five years before turning to player-coaching duties with Athletes-In-Action (AIA).

He played for AIA for seven seasons, setting AIA single-game records for points (54) and assists (21), and the career record for assists (1,689). He was UCLA Assistant Coach on the 1995 NCAA Championship Team, then head coach at Pepperdine and St. Louis before returning to his Washington alma mater for 15 years. There he won their first two Pac-10 titles (2009, 2012), plus three post-season titles, and was the three-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year. He was the head coach of the U.S. U-18 National Team, that won a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA Americas. He was Associate Head Coach at Arizona before returning as head coach at Pepperdine in 2018, and led the Waves to the 2021 CBI post-season title. He is approaching 500 lifetime NCAA head coaching victories in over 25 years in the business.