Major takeaways for Arizona Basketball at Pac-12 Media Day

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Appearing in the annual Pac-12 Media Day once again, we break down the major takeaways for Arizona Basketball. 

The 2021-22 Arizona Basketball season is nearly here, and with the Wildcats in attendance at the annual Pac-12 Media Day, we got a preview of Arizona’s team.

Returning in-person to the annual event for the first time since 2019, the trio of Wildcats which included head coach Tommy Lloyd, Ben Mathurin, and Azuolas Tubelis spoke for nearly 20 minutes, previewing the Wildcats.

Together, the trio of Wildcats fielded a myriad of questions from the  media and discussed everything relating to the upcoming season to adjusting to the Tommy Lloyd era of Arizona Basketball among other things, and it gave media and fans a preview into the Wildcats in the post-Sean Miller era.

With Azuolas Tubelis, Ben Mathurin, and Tommy Lloyd chatting Arizona Basketball, these were the major takeaways.

Tommy Lloyd and Arizona Basketball Running a more Up-Tempo Offense: 

Already we hinted at the idea that Arizona Basketball could be running a more free-flowing offense this year, and at the annual Pac-12 Media Day, Lloyd confirmed what we all seemingly thought.

“Offensively, I think it’s one of the most enjoyable, fun things about the game for fans, for coaches is getting up and down, ball movement, player movement, guys working together, and I really believe more in teaching guys how to play more than necessarily just running plays.”

Arizona Basketball having Somewhat Lofty Expectations:

Being picked to finish tied for fourth in the conference at the Pac-12 Media Day, Arizona Basketball may not be the favorites to win the conference, however, they have plenty of talent and skill to be a competitive group. And this is a team that still has a chance to make the NCAA Tournament.

“When you’re part of a program like Arizona you’re always gonna have expectations so I think the best thing you have to do is embrace them and then you have to wrap your arms around all the reasons there are expectations… I’m looking forward to us being really competitive, and I think we should be a team competing to win games in the NCAA Tournament.”

Transitioning from being an Assistant to taking over Arizona Basketball:

Arizona is more or less one of the few bluebloods in college basketball, and taking over a program of its size while previously being a longtime assistant doesn’t seem to rattle coach Tommy Lloyd.

“The transition has been great. I’m thankful having been with Mark Few at Gonzaga for 22 years, he really put a lot on my plate and really empowered me. It’s something I feel I’m ready for and I’ve embraced going on the journey with these guys. I’m thankful these guys decided to stick with me and give me a try.

Adjusting to the Pac-12 and Managing Arizona’s Expectations:

“I mean I might have to recalibrate what winning percentage feels good, you know, but there were challenges, you play in the WCC at Gonzaga, I mean the things that I think, that maybe you don’t realize that we felt if we lost a game home or away, we lost a seed line in the tournament… there were real repercussions for losing, so we feel like we had to be on every day.”

“And I think it is going to be similar, and maybe you don’t have to go 16-2 in conference to get an at-large bid anymore, so that might be nice, but again, it’s going to be tougher on a night-to-night basis, and I respect that fact and look forward to seeing what that feels like.”

Overall, it was a great introductory press conference for coach Lloyd and the Wildcats, and you can watch the recap of that interview from yesterday!