SEATTLE – Dale Lloyd doesn’t always use a whole lot of words to describe his affable son and the job he’s doing as the Arizona Wildcats’ head coach.
But maybe that’s because he simply doesn’t need to.
“I always tell people, ‘What you see is what you get,’ “ Dale said of Tommy Lloyd before Saturday’s game between Arizona and Washington at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Dale and wife Jackie drove two hours from their home in Kelso, Washington. Although there wasn’t a full-on gang of supporters coming from Kelso, located roughly halfway between Portland and Seattle, Dale’s cousin, Jim McKinnon and wife Lisa, joined them in seats right behind the Arizona bench.
Soon, the Lloyds’ commute to watch Arizona basketball will get even easier. Dale said he and Jackie are scheduled to close Monday on a second home in Tucson, about eight minutes away from their son’s home.
Although Dale said he still planned to work full time in Kelso for “a couple more years,” the home will offer them a chance to become basketball snowbirds when time allows. They plan to attend Arizona’s home games with Oregon and Oregon State next week and then return when Utah and Colorado arrive at McKale Center on Feb. 16 and 18.
Weekend protocol
Saturday’s game marked the fourth straight weekend that Arizona has followed a Thursday-night game with another on Saturday afternoon. During that period, Tommy Lloyd has cut his rotation down to basically just seven players, using just Pelle Larsson and Kylan Boswell off the bench in the Wildcats’ two previous games.
That makes Fridays pretty important.
This weekend, the Wildcats took a charter flight straight from Pullman late Thursday night after beating WSU but still didn’t get to bed until about 2 a.m. Friday at their Seattle hotel.
So to help make things easier, the Wildcats ate their meals and stayed based fully in their hotel, except for practice. Athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie said he has tried to keep them in good shape.
“A lot of behind-the-scenes stuff,” Kokoskie said. “Emphasizing hydration and doing a lot of recovery stuff.”
Marshall’s homecoming
Fox analyst Donny Marshall has plenty of Eastern roots: He played at UConn and for the Cleveland Cavaliers and has been a regular working games for the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. He’s also been a trustee at UConn.
Working Saturday’s game brought him back to his roots in Seattle, where he is actually from. Marshall graduated from nearby Federal Way High School before playing for UConn from 1991-95. The Cavs took him in the second round of the 1995 NBA draft.
These T-shirts were handed out in the Washington student section before the Huskies' game against the Wildcats on Saturday in Seattle.
No pity
Washington students were given a chance to take a subtle, almost ASU-style shot at the Wildcats.
Before the game, rows of free white T-shirts were spread out on tables for the students to grab.
The front of the shirt pictured a cat scrambling up a utility pole, while a Husky stood underneath.
“SCAREDY CAT,” it said underneath.
Just in time
The first 3,000 general fans also received a freebie: a UW beanie that might come in handy over the next couple of days.
The temperature is expected to range between 22 and 37 degrees in Seattle on Sunday.
Channeling Kepnang
Washington players wore warmup shirts that honored an injured teammate.
Center Franck Kepnang blew out his knee on Dec. 3 at Oregon State, taking away a valued, hardnosed post presence from the Huskies.
“Play like Franck,” the gray shirt read, with a large purple W in between.
The 6-11 Cameroonian center transferred to Washington this season after playing the previous two seasons at Oregon. He averaged 9.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in his eight games for Washington before the season-ending injury.
Multiuse facility
If it’s too wet or cold for the Washington golf teams, those Huskies have a home in the 96-year-old Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
A small golf facility adjacent to the south concourse allows golfers to practice putting, as one did before Saturday’s game, while the glass walls in front of it allow passing spectators to watch them.
Quotable
“A really wise man and great competitor told me, ‘If you want something bad enough, there’s always something in your tank. It never goes on empty.’ ” — Tommy Lloyd, citing the words of former Gonzaga and NBA star John Stockton, when asked before Saturday’s game if his tight rotation could run into fatigue trouble
