Arizona basketball hire of Tommy Lloyd receives ‘B+’ grade from CBS’ Cobb

Arizona’s hire of Tommy Lloyd as its new head basketball coach garnered a B+ grade on Tuesday from CBS Sports writer David Cobb.

Lloyd was hired by the Wildcats on April 14. He spent the last 20 years as an assistant under Mark Few at Gonzaga.

Lloyd brought in plenty of other people from Gonzaga in the weeks following his hire, including Tempe native TJ Benson as the special assistant to the head coach and recruiting coordinator, Ken Nakagawa as the director of advanced scouting and Rem Bakamus as the director of player development.

Cobb cited Lloyd’s great track record as a recruiter when giving his grade of the hire.

Lloyd’s reputation as a great evaluator and recruiter of international talent and his role in the construction of a powerful program make him a worthy choice. But there’s no guarantee that Lloyd’s proximity to Few over the past two decades means he is destined for greatness as a head coach.

Lloyd was paramount in the international recruiting scene for Gonzaga. He was responsible for bringing a vast collection of talent to the Bulldogs, including current NBA players Rui Hachimura, Kelly Olynyk and two-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis.

He also brought center Oumar Ballo with him from Gonzaga to Arizona. Ballo earned a spot on the West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team in 2020-21.

Lloyd began his recruiting with the Wildcats by garnering the commitment of in-state prospect Dylan Anderson, a four-star center from Gilbert, on April 16.