Arizona's Head Basketball Coach Earns High Ranking Among Big 12 Peers
While much of the attention is directed towards how Arizona is going to fare in their first Big 12 season on the football field, there is equally as much anticipation to see how they are going to do on the hardwood.
The Wildcats have turned into a nationally dominant program under head coach Tommy Lloyd, winning 88 out of 108 games since he took over in 2021, with two Pac-12 regular season and two Pac-12 tournament titles in their mantle.
But, the Big 12 is going to present a whole different set of challenges.
Not only is Kansas sitting there waiting for them, but so is Houston, who already won their first conference title last year in their Big 12 season. Behind them are the 2020-21 national champions Baylor, Kansas State who made the 2022-23 Elite Eight, and the always tough to beat Iowa State Cyclones.
What Arizona has going for them, though, is that Lloyd is one of the premier coaches in the game.
James Fletcher III of On3 took a look at the best coaches in the Big 12 Conference, and despite not ranking the Wildcats head man as the top guy on his list, he still was viewed very favorably by coming in at No. 4.
"Arizona has picked right up with his approach as a constant threat ... The 2022 National Coach of the Year already has three NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of Sweet 16 appearances on his resume to start his career. Things do not look like slowing down any time soon. and winning basketball along the way," he writes.
Lloyd only trails Hall of Famer Bill Self, Kelvin Sampson, and Scott Drew.
That's a great situation for the Wildcats to be in.
Coming into a conference that many analysts consider to be the best in the country, they're going to need good coaching to immediately compete and maintain a program that can contend for titles.
Arizona certainly seems like they have that with Lloyd.
BRAD WAKAI