Recruitments out of the transfer portal can go quickly, and there was one in the spring of 2022 that progressed particularly well for NAU coach Shane Burcar.
Having been interested in a shooting guard named Liam Lloyd since his high school days in Spokane, Washington, Burcar managed to get the Grand Canyon transfer to Flagstaff for an official visit along with his mom and dad.
“We had a good day recruiting,” Burcar said. “Then we went into my office at my house and we just talked.”
Liam was ready to commit, but the family had one request. Liam’s dad, Tommy Lloyd, just happened to be the coach of an Arizona team that was supposed to play NAU the following season as part of a three-year contract between the frequent in-state opponents.
“They said, ‘Hey, one thing ... can we suspend that?’” Burcar said. “I said, ‘Absolutely, I would love to. I just need to talk to my boss.’”
As a father of four, Burcar said the last thing he would want to do is coach against a child. Over the years, while sometimes squeezing in a trip to Flagstaff to watch an NAU game during the Wildcats’ season, Tommy Lloyd said he never had interest in doing so, either.
So, Liam committed and spent two years with the Lumberjacks, watching but never facing his father’s Wildcats. His mother, Chanelle, and siblings wouldn’t have to wear T-shirts or hats with both school logos split in half. They wouldn’t have to pick sides.
And father and son could still look each other in the eye.
“Me and my dad, we want to cheer for each other,” Liam said. “We don’t want to play against each other. That’s not a win for anyone.”
Administration at NAU and Arizona pushed the contract aside and what has been a near-annual in-state series will finally be renewed Tuesday at McKale Center after a three-year break.
In between, Liam Lloyd received an NAU experience he called “everything I could have asked for and more,” when he turned from a deep reserve into a two-year starter while soaking up the town’s unique vibe.
“I loved my time in Flagstaff,” said Liam, now a graduate assistant for the Wildcats. “I think Flagstaff is a great city and they love basketball. They love it when the team is winning and the whole city gets behind the basketball team. Just that small, tight-knit community is something I’ll always hold close to my heart.”
Arizona GA Liam Lloyd, shown playing for NAU against Texas in 2022-23, spent two productive seasons with the Lumberjacks before joining the Wildcats as a fifth-year senior last season.
Burcar said the feeling ran both ways.
“Liam is a local legend here in Flagstaff,” Burcar said Sunday via telephone. “The thing about Liam is that he’s so lovable. In the youth camps, the kids love him. He’s close with my family. My kids look up to him. We’d have him over and they’d be trading cards, looking at baseball and basketball cards.
“He’s a genuine young man. I think he cares for people. I think that’s obvious when you’re around him. He grew up in a coaching world and he’s respectful to all the coaches. He’s just a joy to be around all the time. He’s funny. And the thing about Liam, when it’s time to be serious, he’s serious.”
That happened on the court, and Burcar can rattle off the highlights there, too. One was a long 3-pointer Liam hit against Weber State to send the Lumberjacks’ 2022-23 home finale into overtime, a game that the Lloyd family had flown up that afternoon to see.
The following season, the Lumberjacks were down by two in the final seconds of overtime at Idaho State when Liam drew a foul and went to the line. The crowd did its best to throw him off, but actually may have done the opposite.
He hit both free throws and the Lumberjacks went on to win 92-88 in double overtime.
“The whole gym was loud. It was awesome,” Liam said. “It was like one of those out-of-body experiences. That was probably one of my coolest (memories) and I made a couple buzzer beaters, which were pretty cool.”
There might have been even more highlights. But in another family-oriented move that Burcar related to, Liam Lloyd opted to use his extra “COVID year” of eligibility to play for his father’s Wildcats last season.
Liam played in just 14 games for the Wildcats last season, with Tommy saying before the season that Liam had warned Chanelle that if he played, “dad is not doing his job,” instead of starting for NAU.
“I don’t think he reached his full potential because he didn’t play his last year here,” Burcar said. “He was a big part of our success and our culture.”
Liam said he was grateful Burcar allowed him to develop by putting him in a lot of ball-screen actions and allowing him to make playmaking decisions, but chose Arizona in the spring of 2024 in part for the chance to experience his father’s coaching and also because his Phoenix-based wife, Halle, was about to have their first child, Luka.
Arizona guard Liam Lloyd (11) talks to the press inside of Richard Jefferson Gymnasium, Oct. 11, 2024.
Liam wound up finishing up his undergraduate degree at UA, while the new family moved to Tucson to be closer to Luka’s grandparents, Tommy and Chanelle.
“Just having more responsibility in my life, with my son, and being able to spend more time at home was more valuable,” Liam said. “I did a lot of online classes here at UA.”
Burcar indicated he stayed out of this family decision, too, even if it was one that hurt the Lumberjacks.
“I wasn’t encouraging one way or the other, because I’m not going to trump dad or mom or Arizona,” Burcar said. “I said, ‘Whatever you think is best for you and Halle and your family, do it. There’s absolutely no pressure. We obviously want you back, but if you go down to Arizona, we’re going to root for you and support you.’”
The Lumberjacks had a winning season anyway, reaching the postseason for the first time in a decade. They won 18 games and reached the College Basketball Invitational, with Burcar saying that the success helped improve his recruiting, though who knows how many more games NAU might have won if Liam threw in another buzzer-beater or two.
NAU coach Shane Burcar, shown coaching against Eastern Washington in the 2023 Big Sky Tournament, says he always roots for Arizona except when coaching against the Wildcats.
Burcar can imagine how that might have gone, but he knows this for sure about the past: How Lloyd sometimes carved out time from his UA schedule to make the trip to Flagstaff, how the family would get together for a late dinner in Flagstaff after NAU games, sometimes with Burcar along.
Even the time that Tommy Lloyd sat about eight rows behind the NAU bench during a game at ASU, of all places.
“There’s balance. Don’t misunderstand that balance with the intensity to be a great coach and win a national championship,” Burcar said. “You can do both. I think Tommy’s a great example for the coaching industry. That’s why he came up and supported his kid when he could. Liam was ecstatic when he knew his family was coming to watch him.”
