Wildcats announce Riccardo Fois is joining Tommy Lloyd's staff as assistant coach

Arizona has officially announced the hiring of former Suns player development director Riccardo Fois as the Wildcats’ third assistant coach.

UA coach Tommy Lloyd called Fois (pronounced FOYCE) “a rising star in the coaching profession.” Fois, 34, will join veteran former North Carolina assistant coach Steve Robinson as newcomers on a staff that also includes returning associate head coach Jack Murphy.

“We are fortunate to have him here at Arizona with us,” Lloyd said in a news release. “His passion for teaching the game and helping build a great day-to-day culture is something that I really value. Now that our staff is complete, we look forward to an exciting future.”

Lloyd said last month he had decided to hire Fois. However, the hiring process appeared to be delayed by work visa issues, since Fois is an Italian citizen.

A player for one season at Pepperdine (2007-08), Fois has followed a coaching track that included five seasons of working with Lloyd at Gonzaga. He has specialized in player development and scouting, while also having European recruiting ties.

Before joining the Suns in 2019, Fois served as Gonzaga’s coordinator of basketball analytics and video operations, handling player analytics and daily basketball operations. Fois also served as video coordinator under Gonzaga coach Mark Few for USA Basketball’s 2015 Pan-American Games team and was an assistant coach for the Italian national team during the 2017 FIBA EuroBasket Championship.

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Fois thanked Suns owner Robert Sarver, general manager James Jones and coach Monty Williams, saying he “could not have been more fortunate to work with better leaders than those three.”

Foyce said in a statement that he “woke up with a smile on my face every day” while working for the Suns, and called it “a thrill to be a small part of the team’s resurgence.” Phoenix advanced to this season’s NBA Finals before losing to Milwaukee.

Foyce noted his longtime relationship with Lloyd as a reason to jumping to the UA.

“We share the same vision for the program — recruit the best players on and off the court and do everything we can to make them better in both of those areas,” he said. “He is an outstanding coach and an even better person and I’m excited to join his staff as an assistant coach at the University of Arizona.”

Fois’ hire now completes Lloyd’s first Arizona staff, which is split almost evenly between those with Gonzaga and Arizona ties. The lone exception is Robinson, a veteran assistant who grew to know Lloyd through the strong Gonzaga-North Carolina relationship.

Lloyd has also hired former Gonzaga and Grand Canyon aide TJ Benson as his special assistant and recruiting coordinator, and former UA player Jason Gardner as director of player relations. Two other former Gonzaga staffers, Rem Bakamus (director of player development) and Ken Nakagawa (director of advanced scouting) have also joined the UA staff in support roles.