Arizona men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd cleared the air about the postgame comments he made following Arizona’s win in the Elite Eight over Purdue on Saturday.
Lloyd said on Saturday, “Arizona’s going to have another good coach after me, I promise you,” which caused many fans to take Lloyd’s comments out of context and speculate it to mean he would be leaving Tucson.
Lloyd has been heavily linked to the open North Carolina job since the firing of Hubert Davis on March 24. The Wildcats head coach is reportedly a frontrunner for the vacancy in Chapel Hill, along with Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan.
“It’s absolutely true. There’s gonna be another coach. This is a great program. I didn’t say when,” Lloyd told reporters on Tuesday in Tucson before his team departs for the Final Four in Indianapolis. “People are going to speculate all they want. Guys, this team has my full focus.
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“Nothing, nothing — I promise you, nothing — is knocking me off that path. And you guys might call them distractions, ’cause you’re distracted.
“That doesn’t mean I’m distracted or we’re distracted. You know what’s pretty cool? Once you get some experience in this deal, and you’re a player or you’re a coach who’s been at it a while, you get pretty good at, you know, eliminating the distractions.”
Lloyd took Arizona to its first Final Four in 25 years, and the Wildcats are 148-35 (.809) under the coach, including trips to at least the Sweet 16 in four of his five seasons.
Lloyd’s buyout at Arizona is reportedly $9 million if it comes on April 1 of after; however, his representatives have reportedly been in talks with the University of Arizona over a new contract since before the start of the NCAA Tournament, Desiree Reed-Francois told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein ahead of Arizona’s Sweet 16 game against Arkansas.
Lloyd was hired by former Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke ahead of the 2021-22 season, and there are reported differences between Lloyd and Heeke’s successor, Reed-Francois.
Lloyd initially signed a five-year contract upon being hired and later agreed to a five-year contract extension in 2024. He signed an additional extension the following year, keeping him under contract with Arizona until after the 2030 season.
Lloyd’s contract at Arizona sees him earn $4.4 million in base salary in 2025-26 and 2026-27 before annual increases of $250,000 the next three seasons.
from Arizona Sports https://ift.tt/1SqUBs7
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