After former Wildcats such as Richard Jefferson and Gilbert Arenas questioned Arizona’s hiring process last spring, new coach Tommy Lloyd said he didn’t have to be the guy the alums wanted to take over their program.
“They should be pushing for their teammates” to get the job, the former Gonzaga assistant said upon being announced as the Wildcats’ new head coach. “If they were doing anything other than that, I’d probably question them.”
Entering a home game with Northern Colorado on Wednesday, Lloyd has the Wildcats at 9-0. They’re into the Associated Press Top 10 for the first time since eventual No. 1 NBA pick Deandre Ayton was roaming McKale Center in 2017-18 and receiving increasing national attention after winning 83-79 at Illinois on Saturday.
So, what does everyone think now?
“We’ve got a lot of positive response from former players, but I’m not living my life or doing this job to prove people right or wrong,” Lloyd said. “I’m just literally trying to do the best job I can on a day-to-day basis. I think that’s where my focus and energy needs to be.”
In other words, this is not an I-told-you-so moment, not even privately.
He indicated he’s the same guy he was at that April 15 introductory news conference.
“I’ve never been a spiteful person,” Lloyd said. “I don’t root against people. I don’t root against teams. I don’t root against Arizona State, to be honest with you. I hope they do great. I just hope when we play them, we can find a way to win.
“I’ve found when you’re spiteful and you focus your energy on other people not doing well, that’s taking away from yourself trying to do well.”
Lloyd still views his first season as an attempt to maximize his current team while going through a multi-year process to improve the program. Regardless of how well the short-term has gone.
“It’s same thing now — we’ll try to squeeze everything we can out of this team and then we’re trying to build something that’s sustainable,” Lloyd said. “That’s definitely my thought process on a daily basis, whether it’s how we approach practice or future scheduling or recruiting. I’ve got to do a great job with the guys we have now. They deserve it.”
With all that in mind, it’s probably also no surprise how Lloyd responded when asked if the Wildcats’ 9-0 start has exceeded his expectations.
“I’m probably not going to give you a lot of this stuff,” Lloyd said. “My mind is so simple. It’s now, or next. We had a great game against Illinois. It was awesome. OK, now we need to put that away and we need to get on to the next one. I know that’s probably not what you guys want to hear. But I’m just literally giving you a peek behind the curtain of my mind. That’s how I work. I’ve never been great at reminiscing, or this or that.”
At the same time, Lloyd said he’s “really proud” of the energy, spirit and cohesion the Wildcats have developed so far this season. He said they’ve taken firm hold of ever-changing game plans and been willing to make changes within games.
“That’s fun as a coach,” Lloyd said. “This group of young guys deserve a lot of credit.”
A different vibe
Junior center Christian Koloko, the only scholarship player who has been around since the 2019-20 season, said the recent buzz about the program is different than anything he’s felt before.
As a freshman, Koloko averaged just 8.3 minutes per game while playing behind Zeke Nnaji on a highly-touted team that also included freshmen Josh Green and Nico Mannion. The season ended abruptly when COVID-19 concerns led to everything being canceled after the first day of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Last season, Koloko started 19 of 26 games on a 17-9 team that received little national attention because Arizona was out of the NCAA Tournament hunt in December, when the school opted to self-impose a postseason ban.
“My freshman year, we were ranked in all the stuff at the beginning and then everything happened,” Koloko said. “Last year was a different year and this year we came into the year really underlooked — like nobody really believed in us.
“I think each game we just try to prove to everybody — we think we’re a good team. We can keep getting better and I think we’re going to continue to get better.”
Aiken still questionable
Lloyd said Tuesday he didn’t know if reserve forward Kim Aiken would be able to play Wednesday against Northern Colorado after missing the past two games for what the UA says are personal reasons.
“It’s literally a day-to-day deal,” Lloyd said. “I’m hopeful we’ll have him back soon. But that’s about all I’ve got on that.”
