Tommy Lloyd on the influence of Long Beach State’s Dan Monson on his coaching career:
“Well you know, I mean, I never actually worked for Coach Monson, because he had kind of given me the opportunity, then then he high tailed to Minnesota. Then I was kind of left there, and then Mark Few inherited me. He’s a great guy, I mean we have a ton of fun together. He’s somebody that you’re always going to smile and laugh when you’re with. I know he’s going through a tough time, but he’s handling it with an incredible grace and I think he’s thankful for the all the opportunities he’s had and the relationships he’s made in this business. I think we all know it can be a tough business and there’s another side to it, and unfortunately he’s going through that right now.”
Lloyd on his message to get Caleb Love out of his recent shooting slump:
“That ‘you’re a great player’ and ‘you’re fine’. A player like him that is a scorer, stuff’s happened to them before in their career, so they know how to respond. There’s no guarantee that he’s going to play really well tomorrow, but you know, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. I think he’s in a good way, he’s had a good approach all week, and now just, we need to get to noon tomorrow and get out on the court, and he needs just to let it rip.”
Lloyd on if his appreciation for making the NCAA Tournament has changed since becoming a head coach:
“I definitely have an appreciation for it. I don’t know if it’s different. It’s hard. I think what we do is hard, and I know we’re open for public scrutiny all that stuff, that’s fine, but like these jobs are hard, and they’re hard on your your family, and you literally have a 247 all consuming job that it’s tough to get away from. One of the greatest gifts coach Few ever gave me was he made me feel like an owner. I didn’t feel like just an assistant coach there, I felt like I was in ownership with him of the program, so I felt the importance of it, and the agony of defeats and all that stuff.
And now it’s probably magnified a little bit for me, so I definitely have an appreciation for what he’s had to go through all those years when I was you supporting him. It’s not easy, it’s definitely not easy. It’s awesome. I love every second of it, but it’s not easy, and I think just being able to have this opportunity, being my third year as a head coach, you’re like wow, this guy’s done it for 25 years and Coach Munson’s done it for 27 years. I couldn’t imagine, so hopefully I can get to that number someday, but yeah it’s a lot.”
Lloyd on if he saw Oumar Ballo’s potential during the start of his career at Gonzaga:
“I mean, no I couldn’t see that. I couldn’t see myself being the head coach at Arizona. There’s a lot of things when when you go back to when we first had Oumar at Gonzaga. I’m just really proud of him. I’m really proud of of how far he’s come. I think those are the the stories that need to be celebrated in college basketball these days because that to me, that’s the essence of what this sport has been about. Kids transitioning from high school to becoming an adult, dealing with adversity, growing, having their own experiences, and Oumar’s really stared those down and overcome a lot.
I mean, there were some dark days that last year at Gonzaga. I mean, he got in a pretty tough spot. He wasn’t a happy person and, for us to get the opportunity to come down to Arizona I think been really impactful on his life and I know he’s been really impactful on my life. I love where he’s at, and I’m grateful that he’s a significant contributor to a really good Arizona team.”
Pelle Larsson on what Keshad Johnson’s National Championship experience has meant to Arizona:
“I think maybe just the way he carries himself every day. He knows what it takes, so he knows what to do every day, how to act, and that just, it’s contagious. The way he works hard every day and tries to get better, it’s been contagious.”
Larsson on how Arizona reset for the NCAA Tournament after a Pac-12 Tournament Semifinal loss to Oregon:
“Just got some really good rest, really. Got our legs back under us, and obviously, learned a lot from that game and that week. Right away, we’re just excited for the next week to prove ourselves again and come back stronger like we always have.”
Oumar Ballo on how last season’s early tournament exit is helping Arizona for this year:
“Obviously we all know what happened last year. Me and Pelle was there, and we know now, like, in [the] postseason, every game is important. You cannot take any game for granted, anything for granted. We came locked and loaded for this game.”