MESA β 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? Theyβre 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 Wildcatsβ upset loss to Princeton in the first round of last seasonβs 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 hasnβt 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 β landing grad transfers Courtney Ramey and Cedric Henderson in June, while Kylan Boswell reclassified in July β before going on to win 28 games.
βI think weβre in great shape,β Lloyd said. βI mean, college basketball is different today than it was three, five or 10 years ago. So I feel weβre in a good position. I love the pieces weβve got. Maybe I have some insight to some other pieces coming that others donβt. So Iβm sleeping good.β
Not surprisingly, then, Lloyd appeared to be to the same guy heβs been for two years as the Wildcatsβ 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 EYBLβs Mesa event Saturday, Lloyd discussed his spring so far, which has included UAβs 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 β 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.
Hereβs a lightly edited version of the conversation:
Whatβs your projection to fill out the roster? If you had to guess, maybe two internationals and two transfers?
A: βPeople will be really happy. I mean, itβs just that thereβs a code of conduct that, when you sit in my seat, you have to respect, and I do. I donβt do recruiting speculation in the public sphere. That literally has zero impact on me.
βEverythingβs gonna be an option. Weβre looking everywhere. Guys who arenβt in the portal (yet), thereβs nothing I can do with them. Weβre definitely paying attention, and we feel good where weβre at. I think weβve got a great foundation for our team next year, and thatβs kind of where we expected to be.β
Youβve been pretty clear that you donβt 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: βI just want to get the right one. I donβt 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 isnβt one.
βIf you follow recruiting for any high-level program, everyoneβs 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 thereβll become a standard way of doing business. But there isnβt right now.
βItβs an honor to get an offer from Arizona. Iβm gonna respect that and always treat that as such. If people in the general public donβt understand that, well, I donβt know what to tell them. Maybe I think our offers are more valuable than they do, but this is a special place.β
How big a deal is NIL right now compared to a year or two ago?
A: βPeople like to talk about, exaggerate about, money and things like that all over our society. I canβt tell you whatβs true and whatβs not true. Weβre just gonna continue to operate the way we have, being really mindful of who we want in our program β good players, high-character guys, and weβre not gonna back off of that.
βItβs worked. Iβm banking that itβs gonna continue to work, and if I donβt think itβs working, Iβll make an adjustment.β
Is there any chance Tubelis comes back? He didnβt really say publicly.
A: βWhich is fine. Zu has a right to approach this any way he wants to. Heβs been an awesome dude thatβs served our program incredibly well. Weβre lucky to have had him, and if we get him back another year, weβll be lucky to do that. But weβre gonna let him go through his process and make the decision he feels (is) best for him.β
Do you think Larsson is just looking for feedback and pre-draft workouts, or is there a possibility he leaves?
A: βI guess thereβs always a possibility, but I think more than anything, weβve had great conversations and Pelleβs in a good place. Again, itβs his right to do this, and heβs exercising that right, so Iβve got no issues with it.β
Any reflections on last season β playing well and then losing in the first round?
A: βI thought we had a good season overall. I think weβre continuing to build the foundation and establish the standards that Iβm hoping for. Obviously, we didnβt play well in a meaningful game. Thatβs gonna stick with you. But weβre gonna definitely use it as an opportunity to learn and get that chip on our shoulder and then come back better. Thatβs been the thought all along.
βI 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. Heβs a really good player, and heβs a good guy. Iβm thankful for all those guys. Thankful for Courtney. Thankful for Ced.
βI was happy. Itβs just, `Hey, you know what? You had a chance to make a run and you didnβt.β Now, youβve got to get back to it.β