SAN FRANCISCO β In the seven months since he took over the Arizona menβs basketball program, Tommy Lloyd has consistently radiated an easygoing and upbeat approach to everyone around him.
βHe comes to practices with smile every day,β forward Azuolas Tubelis says.
Except when the Pac-12 held its annual preseason media day at the conferenceβs headquarters Wednesday, revealing the Wildcats as a pick to finish in a fourth-place tie, Lloyd was just a little bit less enthusiastic.
Sure, he smiled. Lloyd spoke about becoming of a first-time head coach, the challenge of being in a Pac-12 instead of West Coast Conference schedule, his international recruiting strengths, while cracking a few jokes.
But he also made it clear heβd rather be someplace else than talking to media folks all day. Like maybe spending the day at the Richard Jefferson Gym, or McKale Center.
βNot even close,β Lloyd said, chuckling, during a brief interview after a lunch break in the festivities. βDonβt take offense.β
No coach has a choice, of course. Each Pac-12 coach and two of their key players went through the usual βcar washβ of media day responsibilities β the on-set Pac-12 Networks interviews, the radio interviews, the filming of promos for in-season commercials and public service announcements, the posing for still photographs, and the main stage interviews with media from around the conference footprint.
Lloyd went through all of it, but the flight home couldnβt happen fast enough.
βI donβt love to hear myself talk,β Lloyd said. βI think this time of year, youβre so focused on your team, and whatβs coming ahead as a coach, you want to get back and just work on getting your team ready for a season. I get that itβs important to come and do these things, but itβs not my favorite.β
As it was, Wednesdayβs media day interrupted what was only the third week of practice for the Wildcats under Lloyd, who has brought in a more fluid offensive system from his two decades as a Gonzaga assistant coach. The Wildcats have held their annual Red-Blue Game as well as other officiated intrasquad scrimmages, and theyβll face St. Maryβs in a closed scrimmage on Oct. 23.
Things get even more hectic after that. The Wildcats will at least face Wichita State, Illinois, Tennessee in nonconference play, on top of early conference games against Colorado and Oregon State, then open the 18-game portion of league play in the toughest possible fashion β with a trip to Los Angeles over New Yearβs to face UCLA and USC.
Itβll be a different challenge than Lloyd faced at Gonzaga, where the nonconference schedule was cranked up annually to offset the low-rated opponents of the WCC.
But thatβs way ahead of where Lloydβs eyes were Thursday.
βIβve really focused on us at this point,β he said. βOnce we get to the non-conference season, weβll be evaluating ourselves constantly and then weβll watch whatβs coming down the pipe.
βIβm really looking forward to the journey, what itβs going to be like to be playing in the Pac 12, where every game is going to be a battle. Iβm not going into any crazy preconceived notions like I have all the answers. Iβm just looking forward to experiencing it.β
If Thursdayβs official Pac-12 preseason media poll holds up, Lloyd and the Wildcats will get through it well enough.
The Wildcats were picked to finish in a fourth-place tie with Oregon State, while UCLA was a near-unanimous pick to finish first, Oregon was picked second and USC was picked third.
Considering the Pac-12 put four teams in the Sweet 16 last season, and could put half its teams in the tournament this season, thatβs a sign that Lloyd and the Wildcats are commanding some respect.
Even if Lloyd wasnβt comfortable with saying that sort of stuff, either.
βIβm not gonna act like I know,β Lloyd said. βThis is my first year in the league and Iβm taking everything with a grain of salt, to be honest with you. Nothing personal, but Iβm not reading into anything.
βAnd, hey, listen: Arizona is a great program. I think it has built-in respect. And we have some good returning players. But like all teams, especially with a new coaching staff, weβve got to put everything together.β
Tubelis wasnβt worried about that. Tubelis and Mathurin, who were both given preseason all-league honors, joined Lloyd at the media day, expressing confidence that the Wildcats might even be better than fourth-place.
βWeβre picked fourth, so that means we need to prove something,β Tubelis said. βIf we would have been picked first, we donβt need to prove anything but I think itβs right. And we can do more. More than in fourth place. I can say that you will see. Just watch us.β
Of course, the team picked first was UCLA. The Bruins return nearly everyone from their stunning First Four-to-Final Four run from last season while adding rim-protecting Rutgers transfer Myles Johnson and five-star freshman forward Payton Watson.
The Bruinsβ experience and talent is so convincing that even coach Mick Cronin wasnβt trying to downplay it.
βOur starting point is just different,β Cronin said. βHopefully your endpoint is further down the line as well. Itβs a definite advantage having all these guys back.β
Oregon lost guard Chris Duarte and matchup nightmare Eugene Omoruyi, but coach Dana Altman reeled in his usual transfer portal haul to make up the difference, with transfers Jacob Young (Rutgers), forward Quincy Guerrier (Syracuse) and guard DeβVion Harmon (Oklahoma) joining five-star center Nate Bittle.
That means the Ducks may struggle early but theyβll be a major factor, as they usually are, in the conference race by February.
βYou know, weβre moving along kind of slow now,β coach Dana Altman said. βI know theyβre frustrated because weβre not moving quicker, especially the veterans who have a pretty good idea of what weβre doing.
βBut I think if we keep working at it, we have a chance to be OK.β
Despite losing Evan Mobley, USC actually returns a deep and experienced roster that generated a pick for third place, while Oregon State pulled into the tie for fourth with Arizona.
That meant the Beavers, who made a run all the way to the NCAA Elite Eight despite finishing in a sixth-place tie last season, wonβt be sneaking up on anybody.
A year ago, they made T-shirts noting how they were picked to finish 12th in the Pac-12, then reached the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
βI promise, it wasnβt us,β OSU coach Wayne Tinkle said. βIt wasnβt supposed to be this big rally cry. It was just kind of an internal deal that got blown up.
βBut I donβt know. Maybe you guys were tired of hearing that and said `OK, letβs pick them high and see how they handle that.β β
At the other end of the respect spectrum was Cal, picked to finish last despite a veteran roster, and Washington State, which was picked eighth despite having upgraded its talent level dramatically in coach Kyle Smithβs three seasons.
βWe donβt invest too much in that,β Smith said. βBut I do feel like we were competitive last year, I think we have experience in the frontcourt and the addition of some impactful players in the backcourt.
βWeβll see how it comes together. The league is good, man. But winterβs coming. Thatβs our thing. Come on up to Pullman.β
Rim shots
Lloyd said heβs hoping guard Pelle Larsson can return soon after surgery to repair a broken foot in August. βHeβs around, heβs functioning but heβs not on the court for practice full time yet,β Lloyd said.
Pac-12 deputy commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said the conference will soon be promoting fixed and contingent matchups (in multiple-team events) with its new alliance partners, the Big Ten and ACC, while also working to create midseason alliance tournaments and encouraging teams to flesh out nonconference schedules with alliance partners when possible.
