Arizona men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd turned 50 Saturday. There was probably no celebration for a team that has fallen out of the Top 25. Previous UA basketball coaches, at 50, had different reactions.
At 50, Lute Olson was in his second season at Arizona, a year in which the Wildcats only scored 41 points in a first-round NCAA loss to Alabama. The best was yet to come.
At 50, Sean Miller experienced his worst Arizona season, 17-15 in 2018-19, missing the NCAA Tournament while under an NCAA investigation.
At 50, Fred Snowden had been out of the coaching business for four years, having been pushed out of his UA job in 1982.
At 50, Fred Enke was in the prime of his UA coaching career, going 21-3 in 1947, triggering a five-year run of 103-21 and national acclaim.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd during the game against UCLA at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Dec. 14, 2024.
Much like Olson and Enke, I suspect Lloyd is at the beginning of his best years. Once Lloyd figures out how to balance a roster between transfers and freshman recruits, he should return to national prominence.
