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Arizona Basketball retains Assistant Coach Jack Murphy

By Eric Townsend

TUCSON, AZ - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Jack Murphy of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks watches the action during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on November 10, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Jack Murphy of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks watches the action during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on November 10, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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Filling out his coaching staff for 2021-22 and beyond, Arizona Basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd will retain current assistant coach, Jack Murphy.

Less than a week on the job and Arizona Basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd is beginning to assemble his squad and coaching staff, starting with the retention of current Wildcat assistant, Jack Murphy.

Just 41, Jack has been an assistant with the Wildcats under Sean Miller since 2019, and the news of his retention broke via social media on Monday afternoon.

Arizona Wildcats
Arizona Wildcats /

Arizona Wildcats

With the hiring of Murphy, he is the first major Wildcat staffing addition since Lloyd first became head coach nearly a week ago, and the move is a big one for the Cats!

For those that didn’t know, Murphy is the former NAU head coach (2012-19) and former Director of Operations with the Wildcats (2006). He has ties back to the Lute Olson days, and his relationship with the current roster as well as with coach Lloyd makes this hire all the more sensible.

The retention of Arizona Basketball assistant coach Jack Murphy provides a lot of benefits to the Wildcats.

Right now, the Wildcats need stability more than anything, and the retention of Murphy provides that. He is a skilled and experienced coach having spent nearly 15 years in the industry, and as Lloyd begins to learn the ropes as a head coach, having a coach with the caliber of Murphy alongside him won’t be a bad thing.

Plus, the hiring of Murphy makes sense from a recruiting standpoint. Jack has been one of the better recruiters on staff the past couple of seasons, and he has had a lot of success in recruiting internationally. Given his and Lloyd’s track record of finding solid international talent, and the duo becomes all the more intriguing.

Lastly, if keeping Murphy means helping to retain most of this roster and/or recruiting class, then it was wise to do it. Either way, we are glad to see Jack return and hope Lloyd would consider using a strong ally and well-connected coach in Jason Terry as well!

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