Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd says Wildcats are 'in great shape' despite current holes in roster

MESA — In the same 9:30 a.m. tipoff window Saturday, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd could watch his two 2024 commits on one court or a number of even younger targets on some of the other eight Nike EYBL courts.

But those new guys who might arrive to play for him next season? They’re still largely invisible, leading to concern among some fans that Lloyd only has seven expected players on his 2023-24 roster as of now, compounding the angst over the Wildcats’ upset loss to Princeton in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.

Lloyd appears to see things somewhat differently.

Maybe because he has some players close to committing in the weeks ahead. Maybe because star forward Azuolas Tubelis hasn’t completely slammed the door on a return to Arizona.

Or maybe because Lloyd went through a similar timeline last year, the first year when the fully unleashed NIL and immediate eligibility for transfers drove the transfer portal to another level of chaos. Lloyd entered last June with four open scholarships and ultimately left just one open — landing grad transfers Courtney Ramey and Cedric Henderson in June, while Kylan Boswell reclassified in July — before going on to win 28 games.

“I think we’re in great shape,” Lloyd said. “I mean, college basketball is different today than it was three, five or 10 years ago. So I feel we’re in a good position. I love the pieces we’ve got. Maybe I have some insight to some other pieces coming that others don’t. So I’m sleeping good.”

Not surprisingly, then, Lloyd appeared to be to the same guy he’s been for two years as the Wildcats’ head coach this weekend, bouncing around the Legacy Park courts with a smile or joke, chatting with coaching buddies, his assistant coaches and even retiring officials coordinator Bobby Dibler.

In an interview with the Star during the EYBL’s Mesa event Saturday, Lloyd discussed his spring so far, which has included UA’s early NCAA Tournament exit, the transfer of guard Kerr Kriisa to West Virginia, the NBA Draft declarations of Tubelis and Pelle Larsson, the decision of Creighton transfer Ryan Nembhard to pick Gonzaga over Arizona — as well as the commitment of five-star class of 2024 forward Carter Bryant, who is playing this weekend with fellow UA commit Jamari Phillips on the Paul George Elite team.

Here’s a lightly edited version of the conversation:

What’s your projection to fill out the roster? If you had to guess, maybe two internationals and two transfers?

A: “People will be really happy. I mean, it’s just that there’s a code of conduct that, when you sit in my seat, you have to respect, and I do. I don’t do recruiting speculation in the public sphere. That literally has zero impact on me.

“Everything’s gonna be an option. We’re looking everywhere. Guys who aren’t in the portal (yet), there’s nothing I can do with them. We’re definitely paying attention, and we feel good where we’re at. I think we’ve got a great foundation for our team next year, and that’s kind of where we expected to be.”

You’ve been pretty clear that you don’t offer scholarships to a whole lot of guys. Are you interested in more backup options? For example, if you need a point guard in 2024, how many guys do you want to offer? Two or three?

A: “I just want to get the right one. I don’t have a set agenda on how many guys we need to offer. Listen, if anybody has a recruiting algorithm that works in modern-day college basketball, share it. Because there isn’t one.

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“If you follow recruiting for any high-level program, everyone’s all over the place. This is how it is right now. Things will settle down. When the COVID eligibility (extra year for players who participated in 2020-21) wraps up, and the transfer portal and NIL all get figured out, maybe there’ll become a standard way of doing business. But there isn’t right now.

“It’s an honor to get an offer from Arizona. I’m gonna respect that and always treat that as such. If people in the general public don’t understand that, well, I don’t know what to tell them. Maybe I think our offers are more valuable than they do, but this is a special place.”

How big a deal is NIL right now compared to a year or two ago?

A: “People like to talk about, exaggerate about, money and things like that all over our society. I can’t tell you what’s true and what’s not true. We’re just gonna continue to operate the way we have, being really mindful of who we want in our program — good players, high-character guys, and we’re not gonna back off of that.

“It’s worked. I’m banking that it’s gonna continue to work, and if I don’t think it’s working, I’ll make an adjustment.”

Is there any chance Tubelis comes back? He didn’t really say publicly.

A: “Which is fine. Zu has a right to approach this any way he wants to. He’s been an awesome dude that’s served our program incredibly well. We’re lucky to have had him, and if we get him back another year, we’ll be lucky to do that. But we’re gonna let him go through his process and make the decision he feels (is) best for him.”

Do you think Larsson is just looking for feedback and pre-draft workouts, or is there a possibility he leaves?

A: “I guess there’s always a possibility, but I think more than anything, we’ve had great conversations and Pelle’s in a good place. Again, it’s his right to do this, and he’s exercising that right, so I’ve got no issues with it.”

Any reflections on last season — playing well and then losing in the first round?

A: “I thought we had a good season overall. I think we’re continuing to build the foundation and establish the standards that I’m hoping for. Obviously, we didn’t play well in a meaningful game. That’s gonna stick with you. But we’re gonna definitely use it as an opportunity to learn and get that chip on our shoulder and then come back better. That’s been the thought all along.

“I was really proud of a lot of the things the team accomplished this year and thankful for all those guys. Thankful for Kerr. Kerr gave us a tremendous amount over his two years. He’s a really good player, and he’s a good guy. I’m thankful for all those guys. Thankful for Courtney. Thankful for Ced.

“I was happy. It’s just, `Hey, you know what? You had a chance to make a run and you didn’t.’ Now, you’ve got to get back to it.”