After a dizzying spring of roster rebuilding, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd can finally take a breath

GLENDALE — For the first few weeks after last season, Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd was the toast of the college basketball world.

After leading the Wildcats to a 33-4 record, Pac-12 title and No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed, Lloyd picked up multiple national coach of the year honors and made the rounds at the Final Four while, behind the scenes, his bosses worked on giving him a $1 million raise.

Life was good. Then Lloyd was reminded what kind of world he was actually working in.

Lloyd knew he would lose projected lottery pick Bennedict Mathurin to the NBA Draft. Then Christian Koloko and Dalen Terry, two guys who weren’t expected to leave entering last season, also took off.

Koloko did so definitively in mid-April, with his draft stock possibly peaking after a Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year season in 2021-22. Terry tested the draft with the option to return to school, but wound up dazzling scouts with workouts, measurables and interviews so well that he stayed in the draft.

Suddenly Lloyd was missing three starters and had only six guys returning.

He had to go back to work, nonstop.

“I honestly thought at the end of the year, I would get to catch my breath and I realized I didn’t,” Lloyd said. “But when you have a great season and you have good players, those guys get opportunities. I probably couldn’t have predicted at the start of the year how it would all play out but with the success we had, things happened.”

Even after Terry announced he was staying in the draft on May 31, the tough news kept rolling in for the Wildcats. Lloyd’s one remaining all-league player, Azuolas Tubelis, pulled out of Lithuanian national team play because of a wrist injury — though Lloyd indicated it was not a concern for next season. And one potential transfer recruit, former Kentucky forward Keion Brooks, committed to Washington just after visiting Arizona.

But Lloyd managed to land a potentially valuable rotation player in Estonian big man Henri Veesaar and pulled in a long-range Serbian wing prospect in Filip Borovicanin.

Then, earlier this month, Lloyd all but reached the finish line when he received commitments from veteran transfers Courtney Ramey (Texas) and Cedric Henderson (Campbell) to fill much-needed rotation spots. Ramey is a four-year starter expected to start off the ball and back up Kerr Kriisa at point guard, while the 6-foot-6-inch Henderson is likely to play big minutes on the wing.

After getting those two, finally, Lloyd could breathe. During a break in his evaluation of top high school players at the Section 7 event at State Farm Stadium, Lloyd detailed how it all went down:

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Were you ever worried?A: “I’m never worried about that stuff, because it will work out. You just want to make sure that the players are making decisions that are best for their career and decisions they’re comfortable with. From my experience in this, I’ve always ended up OK and our program has ended up OK, so I’m anticipating the same.”

How did it work out specifically getting Ramey and Henderson?A: “What makes it difficult when you have a player as good as Dalen making a decision, is it’s hard to replace him when there’s a possibility he could come back. It kind of pushes everything back and Ramey was a guy who also had his name in the draft. So we had to really be patient and let everything kind of play out.

“With Courtney, first off, I love him as a kid. I think he’s got a real fire in his belly. I love his makeup, his character. He’s really focused, and I think he’s hungry. And I think the things he’s looking for are the things we can provide — the opportunity, the development, playing on a stage like Arizona. I’m expecting him to come in and make a significant impact.”

Sounds like he could bring a little defensive toughness too?A: “Oh, for sure. No question. He’s a proven defender. He’s played in a tough conference and in a good program and played a significant role his whole career. I think we’re very fortunate to get him.”

What’s your take on Cedric?A: “That was one of those crazy ones. I think he’s a late-bloomer. Obviously, he’s got good genetics. His dad was a great player at Memphis and in the NBA. But what really struck me with Ced is how engaging he is. He’s got a great personality and just a very happy, nice kid. I think he really fits our culture.

“And then, as we really dug into him as a player, I was like, ‘Wow, this guy’s really good.’ He’s a wing with size. He’s got a feel for the game, a scoring mentality. He was well-coached at Campbell. They played a Princeton-style system, so it’s a slower tempo, but he put up good, efficient numbers in that system. And he really learned how to play with the ball and without the ball. I think that bodes well for him to make a quick transition to how we play.

“I’m excited about him because he gives us experience and talent. And honestly, I think he’s got another step or two in development that he can access now in his last year of college.”

Position-wise, would you say he’s a 3 or a 3/4?A: “I would say he’s a wing, but you know what? I was impressed that he was comfortable making decisions with the ball in his hands. I think he’ll be able to play similar to how (Pelle) Larsson or Dalen played with us last year. So I’m excited. I think he’s gonna really, really contribute, and I think we’re kind of lucky he kind of fell in our lap.”

Will Courtney play a combo guard role?A: “For sure. At some point, the thing I looked at was that we only had one guy on our roster under 6-6 — and it was Kerr (Kriisa). It’s great to have size and length, but it’s also great to have guards who can handle pressure out front. So I think he’s really going to help us with ball-handling and decision-making, and I think he and Kerr will play really, really well together.”

What are your thoughts on the three guys in the draft, particularly with Dalen having been on the bubble? Was it tough for you to see?A: “I’m excited for all the guys. It’s not tough because they go through a process and then they ultimately end up making the decision that that they feel most comfortable with. Dalen and I had a lot of conversations about what this looks like and he was great with the whole process. Christian was great. So I’m excited for them. We’re gonna do everything we can to help ‘em. And, I mean, listen — I’m always be thankful what they did for me.”

So you’re hanging in there?: “Yeah. I wish it would have been easier offseason, but I think for every college coach, it was a hard year. We’ve just got to get through it and get back on the court. Coaching is what I love to do and we’ll see if we can make them better.”