PHOENIX — In large part because his team made just 5 of 28 3-pointers against Clemson in the Sweet 16, Tommy Lloyd’s offseason began arguably a little earlier than expected.
He had no trouble filling all the time. Since the Wildcats’ season ended in that March 28 NCAA Tournament game, the UA coach held postseason meetings with players, four of whom transferred out of the program: center Oumar Ballo, guard Kylan Boswell, forward Paulius Murauskas and wing Filip Borovicanin.
Lloyd pulled in two others from the transfer portal, Trey Townsend (Oakland) and Tobe Awaka (Tennessee), and he’s now waiting to see if he’ll need more help depending on whether NBA Draft-testing guards Caleb Love, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis return or not.
Last week, Lloyd’s itinerary had him stopping over at the Big 12 meetings and at UA’s first Wildcat Welcome Tour stop in Central Phoenix. This week, Lloyd is scheduled to join a Tuesday tour stop at the Union Public House, then take a few days off before getting back to work.
Later this month, he’s scheduled to coach USA Basketball’s U18 team at its Colorado training camp before heading to the FIBA U18 AmeriCup in Argentina.
“Basically, it’s been busy,” Lloyd said.
In between all that, there’s been some time for reflection.
“Anytime you lose and you feel like you have a chance, it’s tough,” Lloyd said of the Clemson game. “There’s a mourning period, there’s a period where your emotions are pretty raw, but that’s a great time to reflect and really dig deep. So I spent a lot of time doing that.
“It’s about continuing to find ways we can get better as a group, (ways) I can get better as a coach, our players can get better. We spent a lot of time just kind of reflecting and analyzing where we’re at and things we’re doing. But nothing crazy or critical.”
Tommy Lloyd says Trey Townsend was a "Plan A" option for the Wildcats in the transfer portal.
In an interview with the Star before Thursday’s Wildcat tour event, Lloyd addressed some additional spring topics:
One of the common reactions after the Clemson game was why you didn’t drive the ball inside more.
A: Clemson was playing a very compact defense. There were no driving lanes. So, at some point, you’ve got to hopefully make a shot or two. … with 45 seconds to go, it was a one-possession game, so we were right there. We just didn’t get it done.
After you lost to Houston (in the 2022 Sweet 16), you said you wanted to get tougher.
A: We did.
So was there any piece of the experience this year where you thought …
A: I’m gonna keep those things private. We’re still analyzing where areas we want to get better but getting tougher and getting better is always going to be part of the equation.
Any of the departures a surprise at all? A lot of people have been asking about Oumar.
A: It was mutual. I think one of the things that people have got to understand is these kids have a lot of opportunities, and Oumar gets six years of eligibility (he redshirted in 2019-20 and picked up an extra year of eligibility by playing during the COVID season of 2020-21).
(Motiejus) Krivas gets four. At some point, you’ve got to look beyond just one player. You’re building a program over a long period of time, and you have players coming up from underneath. Even Oumar acknowledged that. If Christian (Koloko) hadn’t left (as a junior in 2022), it would have been harder for Oumar. I think sometimes a little bit of movement has to happen to allow other guys opportunities on your roster.”
It sounded like he also did well NIL-wise (Ballo had a reported asking figure of $1.2 million).
A: That’s between him and them. I’m not getting involved in that stuff. No conversations with me.
How do you feel Townsend and Awaka will fit in?
A: “Trey and Toby were both Plan A options for us. We feel like they continue to make us better. They definitely add talent, depth, versatility to our roster. I’m excited, and the other one that I’m excited about — that no one is talking about because it’s out of sight, out of mind — is Henri (Veesaar, sophomore forward who redshirted last season). Henri got a lot better this year. So, I love the depth that we have up front. I love the versatility. I think our frontline has a chance to be really, really good.
UA coach Tommy Lloyd is expecting big things from Henri Veesaar in 2024-25.
Do you see Trey also playing the three?
A: I’m sure he could. I think he’s a lot better shooter than he’s shown. (Oakland) played a certain style and he was really effective at it, but I think he can really shoot the ball kind of similar to how Keshad (Johnson, departing power forward) did for us last year. So I’m excited about the way he’s gonna be able to contribute and the versatility he adds.”
Tobe at four and five?
A: He’s probably more positionally a five, but I think there’s situations where he could play the four for sure. We’ve got to get on the court with all these guys and try to figure it out. I’m not trying to predetermine too many things.
Are you done recruiting (for next season) or does it depend on if Love and Lewis come back?
A: We’ve gotta let this NBA stuff play out a little bit, and then we’ll go from there. We’re in constant communication with them. They’re great kids, and we’re excited for them to have opportunities. In a few weeks here, we’ll probably know more.”
Bradley was a little bit of a surprise because he didn’t make (entering the draft) public. Do you think he’s just getting feedback?
A: His name is in there and I guess all options are on the table, but Jaden is a really good player. You could make an easy case that he improved more than anybody over the course of the season last year for us. I’m excited to watch him to continue to grow as a player. ... (and as with Lewis), these young guys, there’s an opportunity for them to go and kind of see if there’s interest out there for them. KJ is a great kid, and we 100% support him. It’s been fun to watch him really blossom over his first year.
Are you looking to add another guard this spring just in case?
A: We feel good about where we’re at depending on what happens. Obviously, we’re gonna be in conversations with people but we’re probably not going to make any decisions ‘til we know what our guys are going to do.… (recruits) are all probably doing the same thing.”
Bruce Pascoe is a veteran Arizona Daily Star sports reporter covering University of Arizona basketball. He has traveled with the team all the way to Israel and has been reporting at the Star since the late 90’s. Bruce worked at the Las Vegas Review-Journal prior to the Star and he graduated from Northwestern University. David and Bruce talk about the highlights of covering basketball and sports in a college town, the difficulties of the beat, Bruce’s love for sports and where that came from and how his reporting impacts the community.
