Tommy Lloyd's new Arizona Wildcats system an adjustment for staffers as much as players

After 38 years of coaching in college basketball, Steve Robinson might be facing more adjustment off the court than on it after moving to Arizona this season.

“You know what my first impression of Tucson was? It was dark. And then I get to the hotel and one of the first things I see is a javelina,” Robinson said. “I was like ‘What is that?’”

Actually, though, there are also plenty of new experiences Robinson is finding on the court after spending 26 years over two stints under Roy Williams.

One, naturally, is new UA coach Tommy Lloyd.

“Coach Williams was (scheduling from) three o’clock to 3:05, 3:10 to 3:11 to 3:12 (p.m.), practicing that way,” Robinson said. “Tommy has a different approach to it. Tommy might have 10 things he wants to cover today, and he gets through and he covers those 10 things.

“This is more different than I probably ever have had been I’ve been involved with, which is good. Heck, I’m 63 years old. I need to do something different and make sure my brain still working and thinking a little bit.”

Of course, Robinson is hardly UA’s only newcomer these days.

The Wildcats have six new scholarship players, four new walk-ons, four new support staffers plus a new/old graduate assistant in former UA forward Ryan Anderson. Then there’s the staff of Lloyd, Robinson and ex-Gonzaga and Suns aide Riccardo Fois, all new full-time coaches who join retained associate head coach Jack Murphy.

Robinson and Fois were the last ones to show up, Fois because he is an Italian citizen whose work visa needed transferring after the Suns’ long postseason run, and Robinson because he wasn’t hired until Jason Terry left to become a G League head coach last month.

Most of the Wildcats’ new players showed up in the first month or two after Lloyd was hired in mid-April, giving them a chance to acclimate over the summer, while Fois already knows the system that will be in place because he worked with Lloyd at Gonzaga.

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That means Robinson may have had the most to catch up on, even though he’s a veteran coach who said he’s been a friend of Lloyd’s for about 15 years.

“It’s all a learning process for everybody,” Robinson said, “and, you know, this is what we do. This is putting together a team … whether it’s 15 new guys or it’s six new guys, or it’s one new guy. That’s one of the many challenges you have as a coach is to put your team together and how they want to play and how you can get them to play the way you want to play.”

Anderson, meanwhile, said he is sort of a “bridge” between the players and coaches. Not only is he fresh off the floor, having played professionally in Lithuania last season before blowing out his knee, but also Anderson played at Arizona under former coach Sean Miller and is now picking up Lloyd’s system.

“I understand their perspective of some of what Sean like to do and then what Tommy’s trying to implement as well,” Anderson said. “Just the habits and things that defensively or offensively that guys had last year, I can understand and say, ‘Hey, this is how we’re trying to do things now.’

“The thing I’ve been trying to preach to them is that we have a great opportunity this year to write a new chapter and it starts with hard work every day.”

A transfer from Boston College, Anderson played for Arizona in 2015-16, teaming with 7-footers Kaleb Tarczewski and Dusan Ristic in the post. Considering the freedom-of-motion rule changes and now Lloyd’s more open system, Anderson said, the Wildcats could look much different this season than they were in his playing days at McKale.

“Honestly, I’m soaking it all in and there’s so much depth to it,” Anderson said. “I feel like I’m just at the tip of the iceberg of what Coach Lloyd has in his offensive weapons bag.

“But so far it’s amazing. I think the biggest thing that I think everyone will like is just the tempo that we play at. Coach Lloyd’s always talking about ‘push the pace but play under control.’ So I think we’ll see a little bit more up tempo then Arizona fans have maybe seen in the past.”

Rim shots

Arizona’s two leading returning scorers, sophomore forwards Azuolas Tubelis (12.2 ppg) and Bennedict Mathurin (10.8 ppg) are scheduled to join Lloyd as the Wildcats’ representatives at Pac-12 media day Wednesday in San Francisco. The conference is expected to announce its official preseason poll and all-league teams.

Of the two major college basketball newsstand annuals, Arizona has been picked to finish third in the Pac-12 by Lindy’s and eighth by Athlon. UCLA was picked first and Oregon second by both publications.