Tommy Lloyd Ready To Take The Reins At Arizona

TUCSON, AZ — There was never a doubt in Tommy Lloyd's mind that he'd become a head coach someday.

Lloyd, who served as an assistant under legendary Gonzaga University head coach Mark Few for 20 seasons, realized that lifelong goal on Thursday.

The former junior college All-American and professional player in Australia and Germany is tasked with replacing Sean Miller as the Arizona Wildcats' first new men's basketball head coach in 12 years.

Lloyd laid out his vision for the Wildcats program and why he jumped at the opportunity to relocate to Tucson in a press conference inside McKale Center on Thursday afternoon.

"When people reached out to me, I never let it get too far, because for me, there was no decision to make," Lloyd said. "But what separated Arizona is really simple. It's Arizona basketball and this place is phenomenal."

Lloyd waxed nostalgic about his formative years, watching Hall of Fame Arizona coach Lute Olson play in the then-Pac-10 Conference on national TV.

He also laid out how both he and Few shaped the Bulldogs' program to bear a striking resemblance to the one that Olson crafted in the heart of the Sonoran Desert.

"The University of Arizona was the standard-bearer for Gonzaga and coach Few," Lloyd said. "And for him and guys like Don Monson and those that came before him, they emulated a few programs.

"Duke and Arizona were the programs that coach Few chose to emulate."

Lloyd said he met with current and former Wildcats Tuesday morning to lay out his vision for the program, saying he loved the passion that both cohorts shared for the Cardinal and Navy Blue.

"I met with the current players to get them to know my vision, get to know them, know their families, so we can do the best part moving forward, creating win-win situations," he said. "The former players, it was awesome. Listen, I don't want this to be about me. I want it to be about them.

"And what I can do, as a leader of this program, is do everything in my power in using the university's resources to honor those guys and make sure those guys know it's about them."

Lloyd was asked whether the NCAA's looming sanctions against the program, stemming from the FBI's investigation into payments given out to college basketball players.

He didn't flinch, saying he knew full well of what was ahead of him when he accepted the gig.

"Obviously it didn't weigh on me much, because I'm here," Lloyd said. "I knew that for me to have the opportunity to be the head coach at the University of Arizona, it probably wasn't going to be a perfect situation.

"But one thing, I don't think you guys are ever going to hear me complain about NCAA sanctions or anything like that. I know what I'm walking into. And my job is to lead the program forward. So that's going to be 100 percent of my focus."

Lloyd said he talked over the choice between staying in Spokane and taking the Arizona job with Few, but that the longtime Gonzaga coach told him there wasn't much to consider.

"He said, 'who would have thought five years ago that we'd have played in two championship games and that Arizona would want Gonzaga's assistant coach to be their head coach'," Lloyd said.

"And he told me if you can get that job, you've got to take it. And trust me, he's never told me that before."

Above all, Lloyd seemed to beam as he embarked upon his first full day as a college head coach, leaving Thursday's press conference with an anecdote about why he got into coaching two decades ago.

"I believe in teaching guys how to play, not necessarily running plays," he said. "Now, that doesn't mean you're going to see an undisciplined group throwing jump passes and shooting step-back, between the legs threes all the time.

"We're going to have an offense that generates great shots, and it's going to rely on player movement, pace, ball movement. And I can't wait to get on the court with the guys because that's what I love."