What Tommy Lloyd said after Arizona's big win over Baylor
After winning the Pac-12 last season, the Arizona Wildcats have quickly put themselves in a position to win the Big 12.
Picked to finish fifth in the conference in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll, the Wildcats are 5-0 and all alone in first place after Tuesday night's 81-70 rout of Baylor.
"Wins in the Big 12 are hard to come by and and we needed to get this one today because we know we're going on a two- game road trip," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said after Arizona's win over Baylor.
Henri Veesaar led Arizona with 19 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, and Jaden Bradley added 13 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds as the Wildcats led by 20-plus points for most of the game.
Here is what Lloyd said after the game.
Lloyd On Arizona's Intensity
"I thought they came out and they played spirited. ... Obviously we have a big lead again and we kind of let it dwindle. We didn't let it get as close as we did last time. It's just something we've got to focus on and I've got to figure out why is it happening, and is it human nature, is it fatigue, is it a little bit of selfishness? These are the things I've got to figure out. But listen, these guys deserve a lot of credit. They've been through a lot this year .... they've got great character and they've responded and they've come out and they played really well."
Lloyd On Selling Out McKale
"Tonight was a big game that we needed to play well. We needed this one and McKale showed up. Thank you. 9 p.m. [tip off]. Our fans are great. Guys, McKale is such an advantage when everyone shows up. My dream — I have a lot of dreams — one of them is every home game in the Big 12 should be sold out in McKale. If we don't sell it out for a directional school in the non-conference, I don't love it but maybe I'll understand that. But every Big 12 game should be sold out."
"Our fan base is awesome. Our players deserve it. So my plea to the fans is 'No no no. No empty seats.' And it was great. I mean it was an awesome atmosphere. But these guys deserve that. The program deserves that. And they don't deserve it because of me. They deserve it because of the 60 years of history of Arizona basketball and what it means to this community."
Lloyd on Henri Veesaar's Development
"Henri's playing great. I've been telling him 'Hey, Henri you know you're turning into a real player so what you can't do now is relax. You know you've got to keep going for it. You know you're on the scouting report now. You know you're not a surprise. So you've got to keep coming.' He just gives us real advantages out there."
"Henri's an interesting player. He can make a three. He can pass. And he's a big target on some of your passes, whether it's in the zone trying to get in the middle of the zone or hitting him on a lob or or a tip dunk on a rebound — he's a big target.
"Henri's what college basketball's all about. Everyone wants things to happen so fast, and here's a kid in his third year and his first year I thought he was going to be part of the rotation. He was a high level recruit and he struggled. So we got to the point where we didn't play him much because it just wasn't right for that team. Last year he had made progress. He has an unfortunate injury in the preseason and continues to work and changes his body and matures, and now an injury happens on our team so he gets a little bit more of an opportunity. That's what building a program and developing players is all about. So I'm really proud of Henri. ... Until the day I'm done I'm always going to be about helping players get better, and so I'm really proud of the way Henri's progressing. But I'm sure I'll see a few things on film that I want him to do a little bit better next week."
"I more than anybody — and you can ask my staff this — have believed in Henri from day one. Even when it didn't look good I never wavered. ... A lot of times these European kids, they never really get an offseason. Their offseason's with their national team, so we don't get them much. So they don't get that pivotal four, five, six months. When you're 18 to 21 years old the testosterone starts kicking in, your body starts changing, you can really get better. They don't get that, so basically what [Henri's] saying is he had two offseasons stacked up back-to-back because he didn't play last year. ... Our staff did a great job developing him and then he got to do it again in the summer because he didn't go play for the national team last summer."
Lloyd On Physical Play In The Big 12
"That's how we always want to play. It's not just a change of style because we're in the Big 12. We've always wanted to play physical. ... Number 15 and 17 for [Baylor] are beasts on the glass. I mean they're beasts. And Scott [Drew] is a great coach. A lot of things get lost in the shuffle. What Scott does such a good job of is he hones in and focuses on the things that win consistently. And rebounding wins consistently. His teams are always great on the glass and we knew we had to match 15 and 17 from the tip. ... I thought our guys did a great job setting the tone. I would have liked to win the glass by a few more, but we'll definitely take it.A positive number there is better than a negative number."