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Eye On College Basketball
Arizona's Tommy Lloyd UNPACKS his first four years as a head coach | College Basketball
00:15:49
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- [00:00]
A
This is a real good story about Bronx and his dad, Ryan. Real United Airlines customers. We were returning home, and one of the flight attendants asked Bronx if he wanted to see the flight deck and meet Kath and Andrew. I got to sit in the driver's seat. I grew up in an aviation family, and seeing Bronx kind of reminded me of myself when I was that age. That's Andrew, a real United pilot. These small interactions can shape a kid's future. It felt like I was the captain. Allowing my son to see the flight deck will stick with us forever. That's how good leads the way.
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B
Gary Parrish, CBS Sports. I own college basketball podcast here with Tommy Lloyd, head coach at Arizona. So this is year five, first four years, four straight NCAA tournament appearances, three Sweet Sixteens. When did you realize being a Division 1 head coach was going to be so simple?
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A
Oh, my God, you're crazy. It's not simple. I mean, you talk about maybe doing it in the craziest era of all time. Yes, but it's been awesome. I mean, it's a dream. It's a dream. And, you know, you think back to, you know, growing up, being a huge fan of sports and just all things sports. And the next thing you know, you're. You're head coach at University of Arizona, and it's going in your fifth year. And, you know, you remember those, you know, Saturdays, you and I would wake up and there'd be, you know, you're watching a West coast game, Arizona, ucla, and then you're watching, you know, a Big east game, Georgetown against somebody, and like a Big Ten game. And that was your Saturday. So like, just doing that your whole life and knowing right now you're, you're, you're sitting in one of those places is pretty cool.
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B
Obviously, it's not simple. I say that tongue in cheek, but you have made it look easier than it obviously is. Things have gone well. And I was having a conversation with somebody the other day. They asked me about somebody who had been a longtime assistant coach and is, you know, perhaps on the verge of becoming a head coach. And they said, what do you think? And I said, I've been doing this long enough at this point now that there are assistant coaches that I would have bet my life once they got the head coaching opportunity, they would kill it. And, you know, now they work in television. And then there's other guys. There's other guys who I would have said that I don't, that's great. Assistant coach, but that's probably where he belongs. And now they're head coaches, and they're flourishing. Talk me through any reservations you might have had. Like, as I know you believed in yourself, but you don't know until, you know.
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A
I think a couple things that. That. That I can say to that. For one, talk about you, though, you could have been a heck of a.
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B
Wiffle ball coach once upon a time.
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A
Yeah. Well. But getting back to the question at hand, um, you know, I was in a great spot.
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B
Yeah.
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A
You know, at Gonzaga. And I'd never. There was no master plan to go there. I just got an opportunity to go there as a young guy, and the program didn't. You know, it was kind of this. This really cool foundation was being built, but. But they didn't have a lot of resources, so there wasn't a lot of manpower. So when I stepped in basically as like a volunteer assistant slash ga, you know. You mean you got to do everything? I mean, you got to participate in every part of the program, you know, I mean, asides from making coaching decisions. But like, all the manual labor and the manpower that goes into running a program, you were a part of it. So I think that was a great foundational build for me. And then I fell in love with the place. And then you looked around and you sat in the bleachers with all these coaches talking job rumors and this and that. Is this something I decided not to participate in and just, hey, I'm going to become the best coach I can, and whatever happens, happens. So I kept it pretty simple, but I would say it goes to this. Like, you know, one thing I knew is winning is hard, right? And. And the job you. You take is so important. And for me, you know, Arizona obviously is one of the great programs in college basketball. Who would have ever guessed? It's my first job. I just waited so long that eventually the dots got connected and I was able to start my job at a place where you could come in and had strong bones and you had a great foundation to. Of. So I was fortunate. I would say some of these great coaches, they probably still are good coaches.
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B
Right.
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A
But they chose a hard job and. And there's circumstances there. Whatever. Maybe it's resources, maybe it's the administration change. We know that, that. That played into them not being successful because winning is hard. So I knew, like, you know, I couldn't go to. I could go to School X, right. And maybe be destined to be this great coach I wanted to be. But fail, right? And once you do that, then you're. You're.
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B
You're branded that way you kind of.
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A
Almost get one shot.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And, and so another somebody and a guy, you know, told me something that was pretty smart once and he was like, you know, when you're handling your career, you know, deposit, deposit, deposit, but approach, it's like you only are allowed to take one withdrawal. When are you going to take that withdrawal? Because like, if you take that withdrawal too early, you, you have no compounding interest. There's not enough to compound later. If you can wait long enough and take it at the right time now, maybe you can get some compound interest, compound return on your investment. So I thought that was really cool. That's how I, you know, looking back at it, how I approached it, I would, let's not call it a master plan because there was no master plan. I'm lucky. I've done one job interview my whole life.
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B
Wow.
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A
The University of Arizona. I've done one resume, the University of Arizona. And I did it after I knew I had the job. Right. So, you know, my job interview at Gonzaga consisted of me, coach, few, kind of saying, hey, I guess you're around, like, you know, we had this guy leave and you're really good socially, but, but you know, and the guys love you, but you know, you got to be more organized. You got to do this, you got to do that, and you know you got the job. Like, yes, sir. I mean that, that was that simple. That was how I started at Gonzaga.
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B
Well, it's interesting because obviously you're an assistant coach at a program that is excelling like that program was excelling. You're going to get opportunities. Like if you wanted to be a head coach before you became Arizona's head coach, you could have. But it sounds like you understood and there's a lesson probably for young coaches out there. Why do I need to take the tough mid major job to try to get the good job if maybe I can skip that part of this process?
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A
Well, I mean, probably a gamble. Yeah, a little bit of a gamble. But like, honestly, I didn't. I never thought about being the head coach at Arizona. I honestly thought I was Bill Guthridge, which is pretty cool because, you know, Bill Guthridge's name is on a national Coach of the Year award. Bill Guthridge has been to a Final Four as a head coach. And so I saw no problem serving the University of Arizona, serving Fewey. For all those years. I never looked at it like I was settling for less than what I could be getting elsewhere. And so I just never approached it like that. And I was Happy. And you know, we still have great friends and spokesman Spokane. We had an incredible experience and obviously, you know, you know, we're chasing another challenge now, but those were awesome years and I'm grateful for having them.
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B
Let's talk about your basketball team. Exhibition beat St. Mary's I love that you scheduled that game with the old West Coast Conference. You know, history shot about 50% for the field, played well. And I was reading quotes afterward and you said one thing we need to do is be better about getting deeper into our offense. I know what you mean, but explain that in simple terms.
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A
Well, out of respect for your opponents, you know, and obviously we're going to play a tough schedule and it's going to hit hard and fast. You're not going to be able to come down and just, you know, you know, score off one action. You know, you're not, you know, this. You, you have to be able to get comfortable, you know, you know, searching for opportunities within your offense, you know, whether that's ball swings or number of ball screens or, you know, being able to make penetrating passes at the right time. So yeah, I mean, I think that's every journey every team's ever gone on. You know, I think every coach in the country at some point of the year is going to go into their film room with their guys and they're going to write, you know, zero with, you know, here's our efficiency one with our efficiency two with our efficiency and, and, and the number is going to refer to number of ball swings. You know, like, obviously if we don't swing the ball, we're not, you know, you're scoring 0.6 points for him. Every coach is going to do that. I mean, that's just a common thing. So I think it's just, you know, is this where we're at and, and teaching players and have an understanding that yeah, they're going to have to use each other to, to get the things we want on offense.
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B
This summer you coached the U19 team to a gold medal and one of your star players was co opied, who is obviously going to be with you at Arizona. How much can you gain from that time spent specifically with him in Switzerland earlier this year?
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A
You know, a lot, you know, I mean, KOA had a lot of USA Basketball experience. You know, he'd already had three gold medals previously, so he'd kind of knew what the USA Basketball thing was about. This is my first time coaching him with US USA Basketball. And to be honest with you, when you're coaching in a A tight window. You have, like three weeks to get it in and get it done. You know, you. You have to kind of. I mean, at least my belief is you have to coach to your strengths as a coach, as long as it fits the team. So a lot of the things we did with USA Basketball would be a lot of the foundational things we're doing at Arizona. There wasn't a lot of difference. So, you know, co op probably got, you know, you know, whatever. You know, an intensive three week, you know, deep dive, or let's not call it a deep dive because you can't get to the. But. But like a dive into Arizona basketball. So I think that gave him a little bit of a head start.
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B
And obviously another freshman on your roster has gotten a lot of attention because of his last name, because of his father. That's Bryce James. It feels like this experience for him is going to go differently than Bronnie's experience when at usc. It feels like there's less cameras around, less everything. Just what's it like taking on that. Let's just say, interesting set of circumstances coaching the most famous basketball player in the world's son.
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A
You know, I mean, I don't think of it from that perspective. Like, you know, that sounds pretty grandiose when you say that. But, you know, in our conversations with the family, everything was focused on Bryce having a good experience and Bryce running his own race. And that's my commitment, my commitments to helping him have a good experience and run his own race and, you know, and protect him from all the, you know, the nonsense that happens in social media. Yeah, a lot. You know, and the thing about Bronnie that I think that everyone's kind of forgotten. I mean, I mean, let's thank God the kid survived a cardiac arrest. Summer workout. So, like, like to play the season and be in the NBA, like, I mean, it's, you know, put it in the category of a miracle like that that he was able to do that. So, like, that just a crazy set of circumstances and, you know, and then having the opportunity to, you know, to play with his dad is like, come on, that's a. That's a really cool thing that, you know, I mean, I mean, I grew up a Mariners fan, so you have Ken Griffey.
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B
My condolences, by the way.
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A
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. More to my assistant coach, Murph. He was a huge Mariner fan. I'm. I'm focused on Arizona basketball. Murph is still mourning. You know, we had to give him, like, a leave of absence for a couple days. It's tough, but. No, it was a great run for the Mariners, but. But I'm just that father son things. Amazing. And Bryce, I don't think there's that sense of urgency. And, you know, Bryce came to college a year younger and he wanted to have a college experience. And, you know, we're helping him do that. We love having him around every day. He's one of us. There's no, you know, he's not treated any different and doesn't want to be treated any different than anybody else. So it's been a. It's been a really cool thing. And I hope, you know, at the end of however it turns out that Bryce has a great experience and is thankful for his opportunities because he's an awesome young dude.
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B
Last thing before I get you out of here. Unconnected to your program, but I wanted to ask you about it because it's been a talking point this week, and it's that Louisville has secured a commitment from a young man who has spent multiple years in the G League. At Gonzaga, you were a big part of how the Zeg's recruiting expanded and elevated. You've always been at the forefront of this stuff. Are you. Do you even understand how G League players are getting eligible? And do you now have to have somebody on your staff paying attention to that?
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A
Well, I don't know how many kids it is. I mean, it'd be really interesting to see how many kids exhausted their eligibility and went to the. To the G League. You know what I mean? It can't be more than 10 or 20 kids. I mean, so it's a really small pool. Yeah, but it did come out of left field. But at the end of the day, you know, hopefully it's an opportunity. Those kids need to help them with their careers and their lives. And if that's the case, I'm cool with it. You know, I'm not going to. It does come out of left field, but, you know, hey, but. But the European kids are getting the same treatment, so. So why should the G League kids be different? You know, it would just be nice if the NCAA and the NBA could get together and honestly just do right by the kids, whatever that is. I don't know, because, you know, I've chosen to not participate in all the town halls and the conversations because, I mean, to me, like, it's craziness and, And. And so I. I just want to focus on doing my best job day to day with my team. That's the lane I'm gonna run in. But, yeah, I mean, it is surprising when you see something like that. But that being said, I hope in five or 10 years, we look back and say that helped those kids that were able to take advantage of it, that that really helped them with their careers and their lives.
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B
Tommy's always good to talk to you. Thank you for your time. Yep.
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A
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