When Arizona and NAU agreed to postpone their annual season-opening matchup so that UA coach Tommy Lloyd would not have to face his son, that didnβt make things much easier for Liam Lloyd on the court, at least.
Instead, Liam and the Lumberjacks were shipped to Michigan State for an opener on Nov. 7, when Liam was asked to play 30 minutes in NAUβs 73-55 loss to the Spartans. Then Liam played 38 minutes at ASU on Nov. 10 and, on Saturday, logged another 35 at Utah Valley.
The Lumberjacks lost all three games but Tommy Lloyd said last Friday, after NAU visited ASU and UA beat Southern, that it was βawesomeβ to see him play and compete with the high-major Spartans and Sun Devils.
βI know who his dad is, so I could tell how he was playing with his jump stops and his pass-faking and stuff like that,β Tommy Lloyd said. βIβm proud of him. Iβm proud of how heβs competed β¦ and Iβm excited for their team. I think theyβre going to have a pretty solid season when itβs all said and done.β
Liam transferred from Grand Canyon to NAU last spring and the move so far has paid off. Liam played in only 17 of 31 games for the Antelopes last season, averaging 3.8 minutes, and played in 30 total games of limited duty over two seasons at GCU.
But at NAU, Liam Lloyd so far leads the Lumberjacks in minutes played (34.2) and is their second leading scorer (12.0). A 6-foot-5 guard, Liam has shot an average of 37.1% from the field and 30.0% from 3-point range in the Lumberjacksβ three road games so far.
NAU is scheduled to hold its home opener on Tuesday against Benedictine Mesa.
βObviously, Iβm proud of him,β Tommy Lloyd said. βHeβs an awesome kid. This Division I basketball deal is not easy. Heβs grown up in it and itβs still not easy. Iβm sure maybe at times he was doubting himself the last couple of years. He didnβt really get many opportunities for whatever reason and for him to go to a program where he gets to play a little bit, heβs really appreciative of.β
UA up to No. 14
Arizona moved up three spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll to No. 14 after beating Nicholls and Southern at McKale Center in the first week of the regular season.
The Wildcats were ranked No. 17 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll but received a boost in the first regular-season poll partly because Villanova lost to Temple and Tennessee lost to Colorado. Villanova was ranked No. 16 in the preseason poll while Tennessee was 11th; the Volunteers slipped to No. 22 after the loss while Villanova fell out of the poll entirely.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd tries to get guard Kerr Kriisa back to the huddle during a late skirmish against Southern on Friday. Kriisa missed out on Pac-12 Player of the Week honors despite a triple-double.
Simpson wins Pac-12 weekly Pac-12 honor
After leading Colorado to its 78-66 upset win over Tennessee, former UA commit K.J. Simpson was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, possibly snatching the first weekly award of the season out of Arizona guard Kerr Kriisaβs hands.
UA nominated Kriisa for the award after he posted a triple-double in the Wildcatsβ 95-78 win over Southern on Nov. 11, collecting 14 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Kriisa also had seven rebounds to only one turnover in UAβs 117-75 win over Southern on Nov. 7, posting a 4.8-1 assist turnover ratio for the week.
Simpson came off the bench to collect 23 points and 10 rebounds in Coloradoβs upset win over the Vols in Nashville, while averaging 15 points in CUβs win over UC Riverside and a loss to Grambling State earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, Oregon State guard Jordan Pope was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after averaging 16.5 points on 52% shooting in the Beaversβ wins over Florida A&M and Tulsa. UA had nominated guard Kylan Boswell.
