Jay Bilas Believes Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd May Be ’Next Face’ of College Basketball

The game has been rocked in recent years by the retirements of three of its most visible coaches.

In recent years, men's college basketball has suffered through a little bit of an identify crisis.

Since 2021, the game has lost three legendary coaches to retirement: Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina's Roy Williams and Villanova's Jay Wright. It has left the men's game with a dwindling number of recognizable faces as it deals with the decline of its once-prominent place in the American sports zeitgeist.

On Saturday, ESPN analyst and former Blue Devils center Jay Bilas proposed a younger candidate to carry the flag for men's college hoops: Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd.

"I tend to gravitate toward Tommy Lloyd at Arizona. I think Tommy Lloyd is a brilliant coach," Bilas said when asked to name a potential face of college basketball. "He's an international recruiter, but I think he's a brilliant coach and could very well take Arizona to the next level once they go to the Big 12."

Which coach will be the future face of college basketball? 🤔@JayBilas and @Andraya_Carter share their picks 👀 pic.twitter.com/XWy2Qfp7hQ

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 20, 2024

Lloyd has thrived in his first three seasons leading the Wildcats after two decades as a Gonzaga assistant. Arizona was seeded first in the 2022 NCAA tournament and second in 2023; the Wildcats are off to a 13-4 start in 2024.

"I look at Tommy Lloyd as being a potential next face of the game," Bilas said.