On Sept. 25, Arizona basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd met with the media to discuss events from the offseason to expectations heading into the Big 12.
This was Lloyd’s first press conference with the new Big 12 logo behind him, his first press conference since the Pac-12 exodus.
Here are some key points from Lloyd’s first press conference of the season:
1. Bringing back Caleb Love, Jaden Bradley, and KJ Lewis
Lloyd drove in the importance of bringing back three crucial and experienced players, which means a lot to the newer parts of the roster. The importance of coaching and growing players who have worked under Lloyd is certainly key to their future success.
Lloyd also talked about how crucial Love has been to the program, especially what it means to the players and coaches. The Arizona basketball head coach wants Love to evolve and grow in places he might not have approached before.
“He’s going to show you what we’re going to do,” said Lloyd.
Lloyd also pushed on how crucial Bradley is to the overall guard position, especially highlighting how key he will be in the team’s leadership and development throughout the season.
2. Player development
Lloyd also discussed the crucial role of the power forward position in the Arizona lineup, seeing past options in Azuolas Tubelis and Keshad Johnson being very influential to team growth and success.
“We have great options there this year… and I’m really excited about how we are going to utilize the guys who play that spot,” said Lloyd.
Lloyd spoke about the development of the team’s bigs as well as the team overall. He pushed on how well this year’s Arizona basketball team has grown together and formed a better unit, but this will be tested once games start. He also touched on the development of Motiejus Krivas and how excited he is to watch Krivas play.
“I want you to see how they have gotten better,” said Lloyd.
3. Addition of the Glendale Red-Blue Game
The new addition of a preseason Red-Blue game up north to Arizona State territory in Phoenix was an unprecedented move by Arizona.
Lloyd especially acknowledges what it could mean for the growth of program identity throughout the state.
He also highlighted a possible push by not just Arizona basketball, but rather the university as a whole, to begin more pushes for programs and events in Phoenix.
“We’re not afraid of making bold moves,” said Lloyd. “We want to continue to grow it and build it.”
4. Coaching and organizational changes
“Promotion from within is something I really value, it really helped me in my coaching career,” said Lloyd.
The Arizona basketball head coach highlighted the rise of assistant coaches, Rem Bakamus, Ken Nakagawa, and TJ Benson, from within the organization. Especially, how crucial they are in having watched the program evolve straight-on through both the good and the bad. He drove home the team is still growing and keeping pieces like these assistant coaches is crucial in seeing the evolution.
5. Big 12 games and future
Despite the new transition to the Big 12, Lloyd discussed how this didn’t affect the roster and team identity.
Lloyd describes how he believes Arizona basketball is built for Big 12 competition.
“We’re not going to make any assumptions, you know we got to go out and show and prove that we’re built to be successful in the Big 12,” said Lloyd.
He talked about how happy he is with the upcoming conference and non-conference schedule but said that it will be a challenge competing with some of the best teams in the nation.
6. Growth after four years at the helm of Arizona basketball
“I have the same enthusiasm for the job as when I first started,” said Lloyd. “I know my love for Tucson and the University of Arizona has really grown”
Lloyd discussed how becoming the Arizona men’s basketball head coach, while focusing on basketball itself, has meant a lot to the community and Tucson as a whole.
“I want program success for our players and members of our community,” said Lloyd.
He highlighted how much it means over any individual accolades and awards to see the program grow.
Arizona basketball opens its season with the annual Red-Blue game held in McKale Center on Oct. 4, as well as the new Glendale Red-Blue game being played at Desert Diamond Arena on Oct. 11.