Tommy Lloyd

[Captain Obvious]

There's not a lot of pressure when you win 33 and 28 games in your first two seasons after the Miller / Book fallout. He has been a little less than subtle with his postgame comments this year and they didn't respond.

Brendan Haywood said it during the Northwestern-Boise game - Arizona lost that game because their guards were terrible. We weren't playing Houston, or Alabama, we were playing fucking Princeton and Kerr was 1-7 from three, didn't take a two point shot, had four turnovers and two assists. He's not a high-level point guard.

Another predictably embarrassing March loss adding yet another sad chapter to Arizona's post season failures. I saw this coming a long time ago and not having adequate point guard play has been just one of many weaknesses in this team. Not having that go to guy when things are going badly was on full display today in front of a national audience. Tommy Lloyd's comments in the post game presser left me scratching my head as well. His 'oh well, things like this happen' attitude really annoyed me. And whining about the fouls made him look silly and discredited a fantastic effort by Princeton. It's tournament play Tommy; that's where you make pivotal in game adjustments and earn your money. And then the clown comment about not having a real job. What? You're getting a real paycheck and getting outperformed by coaches making much less than you. Losing doesn't build character, it reveals it.

[RaisingArizona]

Let's hope the parallels carry into the next year.

Everyone is upset. I get it. Tommy just had the best two year start ever. He's terrific and we're lucky to have him. Unlike last year this was not an outrageously talented team. We should have won that game by ten. We choked. Shit happens. The fact remains that the program is in good hands.

[SabinoDrifter]

Tommy didn't make adjustments when Princeton made their second half run. He needs to own that and have a quicker trigger. I've been wanting Boswell to get more minutes since the beginning of conference play and feel like Tommy was too quick to pull Boswell after a bad play or two.

[CalStateTempe]

Mick had ucla playing the ball we all hoped Miller would’ve adopted.

[campjl00]

You guys are unkind. This team won two tournaments (Maui and the PAC12)…they’re a tough team and play well in bright lights. They just had a really bad day, and Lloyd is right that the refs called the game differently than all year where the bigs couldn’t draw a foul and instead got stripped every time down the floor.

There's not a lot of pressure when you win 33 and 28 games in your first two seasons after the Miller / Book fallout. He has been a little less than subtle with his postgame comments this year and they didn't respond.

Brendan Haywood said it during the Northwestern-Boise game - Arizona lost that game because their guards were terrible. We weren't playing Houston, or Alabama, we were playing fucking Princeton and Kerr was 1-7 from three, didn't take a two point shot, had four turnovers and two assists. He's not a high-level point guard.

Another predictably embarrassing March loss adding yet another sad chapter to Arizona's post season failures. I saw this coming a long time ago and not having adequate point guard play has been just one of many weaknesses in this team. Not having that go to guy when things are going badly was on full display today in front of a national audience. Tommy Lloyd's comments in the post game presser left me scratching my head as well. His 'oh well, things like this happen' attitude really annoyed me. And whining about the fouls made him look silly and discredited a fantastic effort by Princeton. It's tournament play Tommy; that's where you make pivotal in game adjustments and earn your money. And then the clown comment about not having a real job. What? You're getting a real paycheck and getting outperformed by coaches making much less than you. Losing doesn't build character, it reveals it.

[azcat49]

Why are we lucky to have Lloyd? Is it because we won a conference crown with Millers players or that we won a conference tournament championship against a UCLA team with two starters out?

Is it because we have had some top 5 recruiting classes that shape the future of our program of maybe it was because we beat a team where our coaches came up with a great game plan?

Is it because of the gane plan today or the adjustments once he saw how things were being called? Did he get a tech at an opportune time that changed the flow of the calls?

Just curious as to why we are lucky to have him. Shit, we are Arizona and could get many a coach out there.

[Merkin]

No one watches the refs closer than I do, and did not see any issues with the calls tonight. The Cats were just not motivated enough to win. The guards outside of Boswell didn't care at all enough to win.

[g32knights]

You guys are unkind. This team won two tournaments (Maui and the PAC12)…they’re a tough team and play well in bright lights. They just had a really bad day, and Lloyd is right that the refs called the game differently than all year where the bigs couldn’t draw a foul and instead got stripped every time down the floor.

There's not a lot of pressure when you win 33 and 28 games in your first two seasons after the Miller / Book fallout. He has been a little less than subtle with his postgame comments this year and they didn't respond.

Brendan Haywood said it during the Northwestern-Boise game - Arizona lost that game because their guards were terrible. We weren't playing Houston, or Alabama, we were playing fucking Princeton and Kerr was 1-7 from three, didn't take a two point shot, had four turnovers and two assists. He's not a high-level point guard.

Another predictably embarrassing March loss adding yet another sad chapter to Arizona's post season failures. I saw this coming a long time ago and not having adequate point guard play has been just one of many weaknesses in this team. Not having that go to guy when things are going badly was on full display today in front of a national audience. Tommy Lloyd's comments in the post game presser left me scratching my head as well. His 'oh well, things like this happen' attitude really annoyed me. And whining about the fouls made him look silly and discredited a fantastic effort by Princeton. It's tournament play Tommy; that's where you make pivotal in game adjustments and earn your money. And then the clown comment about not having a real job. What? You're getting a real paycheck and getting outperformed by coaches making much less than you. Losing doesn't build character, it reveals it.

They're not a tough team.

[Postmaster]

Bal looked pretty upset at the end.

[campjl00]

If they’re not tough, how did they win Maui and the Pac12 tournament?

[campjl00]

Honestly what I love about TL is he isn’t miller. Miller was up in the players azz and they knew if they made a mistake they’d get yanked and embarrassed. He was a micromanaging ex PG.

Lloyd’s offense is fun to watch and organic. See Kenpom offense rating. The biggest problem imo is it relies on motion and when refs swallow whistles it can’t score.

[campjl00]

No one watches the refs closer than I do, and did not see any issues with the calls tonight. The Cats were just not motivated enough to win. The guards outside of Boswell didn't care at all enough to win.

Don’t care / don’t have energy is what losers say after they lose. Bottom line is they had those cameras following them behind the scenes and I think they were scared.

[AZCatGirl]

Just curious as to why we are lucky to have him. Shit, we are Arizona and could get many a coach out there.

I'd love to know who you think will come coach a team in a dead conference.

[dovecanyoncat]

While I agree that we are unkind, that unkindness is in this moment properly due and owing to our coach, who is a good coach, one for numerous reasons we are lucky to have. We love his style of play, its fluidity and its beauty. But while the program is in good hands the lesson of this loss particular needs to be reflected in a specific reaction that we didn't see in the presser. It needs to be personal in a way that isn't resolved into soft platitudes about the vagaries of the game. We are finding out that Tommy's own personal strength comes out in those soft platitudes. Notably: this is his dream job hence he contradistinguishes it from a real job. I both dislike and like that characterization because he doesn't scale in time the setback of this loss the way his players and their fans do ..... and that makes him look squishy but focused on the long game. He's not built the way I am. I'm fucking pissed and that's how I gain motivation. Not Tommy. So it's natural to question the team's energy if we see little normal evidence of it in the coach after such a disappointing loss.

I agree with Merkin that the refs weren't the difference in the game. But even if they were, Tommy needed to adjust. Looked like he didn't.

[RaisingArizona]

Tommy won 33 games with the excellent team that Sean left behind. Though Sean left him a good situation it's always hard to win 33 games. He then won 28 with the flawed remnants. He's a terrific basketball coach. Most importantly he's still inexperienced. He will grow. He'll keep having us as a top 4 seed and eventually we'll break through. We're in good hands.

[HiCat]

Coach Tommy needs to get better, I think he will. There must be some big time soul searching in Tucson tonight.

Cats needs more players who can take a kick in the face and get up and play with anger and determination.
They need killer instinct and grit. Yeah, a few dogs would be great. If you're up 10-12 points, you can't let
teams back into the game. You need to step on their throats and make them quit mentally. Don't let them
hang around thinking they can win. Cats need to play harder..and desperate.

It would help if Arizona had more shooters who aren't afraid of the moment. 18 % from the 3 point line won't cut it in big games. They need to be able to get to the hoop and create plays or make some big shots when the game is on the line.

7 man rotation? Maybe it made a difference, but it's not clear. But with 2 starters injured, I think it did.
If you have a deeper bench, the mindset is better for confidence vs. playing scared. I wondered how
a strained shoulder and a broken hand affected the game when Arizona needed big plays. Running with
8 or 9 guys gives you the extra "spark" coming off the bench. I dunno.

The bigger team got out rebounded? Princeton had more block shots and more steals? Why? Because they wanted it more (at least from my view).

Get them ready Tommy..figure it out, Tucson is behind you. You can do this.

[azcat49]

Thinking back, thinks kind of went to formula . Last year we almost lost in the 32 abd then did in the 16 even though we had the NBA ROY, a near lottery guy and a guy playing good minutes as a rookie.

This year we have none of those (Tubelis maybe?) and we lost in the first round. The exception is that Princeton wasn’t overly athletic or did something we had not seen. Still so disappointed this morning

[pc in NM]

Tommy won 33 games with the excellent team that Sean left behind. Though Sean left him a good situation it's always hard to win 33 games. He then won 28 with the flawed remnants. He's a terrific basketball coach. Most importantly he's still inexperienced. He will grow. He'll keep having us as a top 4 seed and eventually we'll break through. We're in good hands.

Last year's team excelled because CTL installed a totally different offensive scheme - such a great utilization of the available talent, that even CSM, watching them, and others, on TV decided to change his own approach to offense. Got that!?

This year, the seven man rotation had two Miller-coached players (Kerr & Zu); there were 5 CTL players (Pelle, Oumar. Ramey, Henderson & Boswell) - it was CTL's team all the way!!!

I am in deep pain over our loss! Horrifically so!! Yet, I'm fully aware that my own sports fan pain is nowhere near that experienced by the coach and players on the team. I feel for them!! I thank them for a great season! I support them totally!!!!

BTW, the greatest coach I've ever cheered for as a sports fan, Lute, lost three times to teams seeded #13 or lower. And I felt/respected his pain each time.

BTFD like you mean it!!

[TheGreatCatsby]

Tommy just needs to fix a few keys things:

1. Get much better guards.

2. Learn that the PAC-12 tournament means absolutely nothing, and play 12 guys each game to prevent injury to key starters and reserve strength for the following weeks' games in the NCAA tournament. Maybe win a game, then ok losing the next. We've had 2 disastrous PAC12 tourneys now in a row that cost us majorly in the NCAA tournament. I'd much rather have a Sweet 16/Elite 8+ than another meaningless PAC12 tourney title.

[PHXCATS]

Bullshit that the PAC-12 tournament means nothing

[dovecanyoncat]

Bullshit that the PAC-12 tournament means nothing

It sure is bullshit if instead you can be in the B12 tournament.

[CalStateTempe]

Bullshit that the PAC-12 tournament means nothing

It sure is bullshit if instead you can be in the B12 tournament.

Dude seriously, when are we making that move.

The pac is dead man walking

[pc in NM]

Bullshit that the PAC-12 tournament means nothing

It sure is bullshit if instead you can be in the B12 tournament.

The Big-12 Tournament -Texas blew out KU for the championship - KU #1 seed; Texas #2 seed

The Big 12 tournament meant less than the pac-12 tournament

Prove me wrong!

[dovecanyoncat]

Bullshit that the PAC-12 tournament means nothing

It sure is bullshit if instead you can be in the B12 tournament.

The Big-12 Tournament -Texas blew out KU for the championship - KU #1 seed; Texas #2 seed

The Big 12 tournament meant less than the pac-12 tournament

Prove me wrong!

Playing in the B12 tourney as a conference member means everything to me as a Wildcat fan and to the future of UofA basketball. As it is a simple personal fact I needn't prove the one to anyone, and as the sole meaningful metric and marker of progress in the other, it should be obvious.

[dovecanyoncat]

*

[pc in NM]

Bullshit that the PAC-12 tournament means nothing

It sure is bullshit if instead you can be in the B12 tournament.

The Big-12 Tournament -Texas blew out KU for the championship - KU #1 seed; Texas #2 seed

The Big 12 tournament meant less than the pac-12 tournament

Prove me wrong!

Playing in the B12 tourney as a conference member means everything to me as a Wildcat fan and to the future of UofA basketball. As it is a simple personal fact I needn't prove the one to anyone, and as the sole meaningful metric and marker of progress in the other, it should be obvious.

So I think you're confabulating the relative value of winning either one of these conference tournaments with the relative value of conference membership (Pac-12 vs Big-12)

I was addressing the former.

You appear to be addressing the latter.

They are two entirely different things...

[dovecanyoncat]

Bullshit that the PAC-12 tournament means nothing

It sure is bullshit if instead you can be in the B12 tournament.

The Big-12 Tournament -Texas blew out KU for the championship - KU #1 seed; Texas #2 seed

The Big 12 tournament meant less than the pac-12 tournament

Prove me wrong!

Playing in the B12 tourney as a conference member means everything to me as a Wildcat fan and to the future of UofA basketball. As it is a simple personal fact I needn't prove the one to anyone, and as the sole meaningful metric and marker of progress in the other, it should be obvious.

So I think you're confabulating the relative value of winning either one of these conference tournaments with the relative value of conference membership (Pac-12 vs Big-12)

I was addressing the former.
Yes; distinguishing rather than confabulating.

You appear to be addressing the latter.

They are two entirely different things...

[U.P. Zona Fan]

Coach Tommy needs to get better, I think he will. There must be some big time soul searching in Tucson tonight.

Cats needs more players who can take a kick in the face and get up and play with anger and determination.
They need killer instinct and grit. Yeah, a few dogs would be great. If you're up 10-12 points, you can't let
teams back into the game. You need to step on their throats and make them quit mentally. Don't let them
hang around thinking they can win. Cats need to play harder..and desperate.

It would help if Arizona had more shooters who aren't afraid of the moment. 18 % from the 3 point line won't cut it in big games. They need to be able to get to the hoop and create plays or make some big shots when the game is on the line.

7 man rotation? Maybe it made a difference, but it's not clear. But with 2 starters injured, I think it did.
If you have a deeper bench, the mindset is better for confidence vs. playing scared. I wondered how
a strained shoulder and a broken hand affected the game when Arizona needed big plays. Running with
8 or 9 guys gives you the extra "spark" coming off the bench. I dunno.

The bigger team got out rebounded? Princeton had more block shots and more steals? Why? Because they wanted it more (at least from my view).

Get them ready Tommy..figure it out, Tucson is behind you. You can do this.

At what point do you make the call to just get bench guys minutes in conference play, win or lose, just to make sure they are developing and ready for tourney play?

What if we would have lost 3 more games but had 2 more guys that were more ready for prime time? Not sure that would have happened this year. Could have used a big with 2 good hands in the Princeton game.

[azcat49]

Not sure we needed another big but we sure needed a wing who could beat his man off the dribble and hit a three and could guard their 6’9” point forward but point well taken

[HiCat]

Not sure we needed another big but we sure needed a wing who could beat his man off the dribble and hit a three and could guard their 6’9” point forward but point well taken

Yep..coulda woulda shoulda...

If Arizona had this guy, Cats would still be in the hunt.

Just saying..

[EastCoastCat]

I can tell you 100% what should have been done after the fact...

[Alieberman]

Will we will find out in the next few months if Tommy is also a witch?

[Frybry02]

This is a big offseason and next season is even bigger for Lloyd.

No excuses anymore. No IARP hanging over the program. Everyone keeps saying “let him get his guys in.” Well coach, you have to recruit guys for that to happen.

Next year his guys will be Boswell, Larrson, Ballo, Anderson, KJ, FB, and Veesar

Miller guy left will be Tubelis.

One would assume the staff will put in some work with transfers. With this current roster, I’m not sure grad transfers are the answer next year.

[azcat49]

He will need to bring in 6 guys and craft a roster. Not sure he has shown that ability on either yet. Going to be fun to watch and see what happens.

[PHXCATS]

He had two Miller guys this year and people are wondering if he can craft a roster?

Seriously?

[azcat49]

He has played 4 NCAA games and none of them have been impressive. He has not shown the ability to have any roster flexibility, especially going against 5 out offenses. His high low works great against other bigs but it struggles with stretch teams. Lots of questions in my mind, but it’s a simple one that I possess

[RondaeShimmy]

He has played 4 NCAA games and none of them have been impressive. He has not shown the ability to have any roster flexibility, especially going against 5 out offenses. His high low works great against other bigs but it struggles with stretch teams. Lots of questions in my mind, but it’s a simple one that I possess

Miller had the same problems after TJ left with the twin towers bigs. I don't know why Lloyd is obsessed with sticking with that. Ashley was at least more versatile.

The same thing happened everytime, Miller or Lloyd , the offenses would drag our bigs into the backcourt and murder us repeatedly and offensively, they attack our guards and prevent the bigs from getting touches.

It's not a surprise that neither Miller or Lloyd could get out of the S16 after going with two traditional non shooting bigs playing together and had a early exit upsets.

[Beachcat97]

Somewhere along the way Lute figured out that guards win tourney games. I'm not sure why other coaches (Lloyd included) haven't noticed this formula playing out again and again and again. The list of guards who went beast mode in March is a mile long. And of course, our only title was won largely on the backs of Simon, Bibby, Terry and Dickerson.

Not saying good bigs are worthless. But I'm not sure we need Ballo AND Tubelis. One of them plus a cluster of athletic, defense-minded, high scoring guards is how you win. It's a formula Altman's used many times at Oregon.

[Frybry02]

He had two Miller guys this year and people are wondering if he can craft a roster?

Seriously?

Yes. Especially when those 2 players had the greatest impact on the team offensively.

[pc in NM]

Bear the fuck Down, guys!!!

[PHXCATS]

The loss has broken peoples brains

[TheCat]

Mick had ucla playing the ball we all hoped Miller would’ve adopted.

WTF. Watching paint dry is easier than watching the second half of any UCLA offensive game.

[TheCat]

He has played 4 NCAA games and none of them have been impressive. He has not shown the ability to have any roster flexibility, especially going against 5 out offenses. His high low works great against other bigs but it struggles with stretch teams. Lots of questions in my mind, but it’s a simple one that I possess

Miller had the same problems after TJ left with the twin towers bigs. I don't know why Lloyd is obsessed with sticking with that. Ashley was at least more versatile.

The same thing happened everytime, Miller or Lloyd , the offenses would drag our bigs into the backcourt and murder us repeatedly and offensively, they attack our guards and prevent the bigs from getting touches.

It's not a surprise that neither Miller or Lloyd could get out of the S16 after going with two traditional non shooting bigs playing together and had a early exit upsets.

What are you talking about. How many elite 8's did Miller take us to? I agree having a tough penetrating guard is a huge factor for a run in the tourney.

[dovecanyoncat]

Mick had ucla playing the ball we all hoped Miller would’ve adopted.

WTF. Watching paint dry is easier than watching the second half of any UCLA offensive game.

Agreed, but if shitting razor blades gets a W then ........ ahhhhhhh fuck.

[pc in NM]

God forbid we have to suffer through 61-11 for two more years!

[TheCat]

Mick had ucla playing the ball we all hoped Miller would’ve adopted.

WTF. Watching paint dry is easier than watching the second half of any UCLA offensive game.

Agreed, but if shitting razor blades gets a W then ........ ahhhhhhh fuck.

Well he didn't get them against us.

[CardiacCats97]

God forbid we have to suffer through 61-11 for two more years!

2-2 when it really counts.

[pc in NM]

God forbid we have to suffer through 61-11 for two more years!

2-2 when it really counts.

OK, then we'll see you back here in March 2024, eh?

[CardiacCats97]

God forbid we have to suffer through 61-11 for two more years!

2-2 when it really counts.

OK, then we'll see you back here in March 2024, eh?

Hopefully for more than just a day or two, huh?

[PHXCATS]

College basketball is far more than just the NCAA tournament

Pathetic that some UA fans think that that is all that matters