Arizona fans have been dismissive on social media, with multiple media outlets reporting that Tommy Lloyd will be a candidate to replace Hubert Davis at North Carolina. Even with those outlets saying that Lloyd is one of a few candidates, the comments have been dismissive and panicked.
Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports first reported on Tuesday morning that Lloyd will be a candidate with North Carolina. The report from Wolken occurred about 10 hours before North Carolina officially announced that Davis would not be returning as its head coach.
Other names that have been reported as potential successors in addition to Lloyd are Todd Golden of Florida, Boston Celtics President of basketball operations Brad Stevens, Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and T. J. Otzelberger of Iowa State, among others.
Among some of the comments that fans made to the original X post showing Wolken naming Lloyd as a candidate at UNC were one using the clown emoji as a response and another stating "Arizona is a better program than UNC. Stop this ridiculous commentary."
I'd be offended (and a bit worried) if UNC or any other top school wasn't interested in Lloyd, but I find it hard to believe he'd leave when he's got it pretty dang good at Arizona and can obviously compete at the highest level there. https://t.co/LmoW7ffZGJ
— Adam Green (@theAdamGreen) March 24, 2026
Tommy Lloyd being persued as a positive
Lloyd potentially being pursued by North Carolina is a positive. The culture and success Lloyd has built at Arizona follows Lute Olson and Sean Miller doing the same during their tenures with the Wildcats. North Carolina considering Lloyd as a candidate as their next head coaching shows they respect him as a coach and the Arizona basketball program.
Lloyd has 146 wins and 35 losses in nearly five full seasons as a head coach. The wins are the most by a head coach in his first five seasons in NCAA Division I history. Lloyd will likely stay at Arizona with bigger and more successful candidates being considered. Dismissing Lloyd being considered by UNC or being offended by that reality is pointless.