Tommy Lloyd knows Arizona basketball has a lot to prove as new kid on Big 12 block

Tommy Lloyd, Bobby Hurley, Tad Boyle and Craig Smith all got hammered with questions at Big 12 men’s basketball media day about their new conference, the one with lots of good basketball teams and rowdier opposing crowds. They all answered respectfully, but only one of the former Pac-12 teams enters with the expectation it could challenge the old heads in the conference.

Arizona State, Colorado and Utah were picked this preseason by Big 12 coaches to finish in the bottom five.

Arizona was picked to finish fifth.

Lloyd displayed respect for his new league. But he also showed a tinge of competitive fire about all this at the end of his podium session when he was pressed by a Kansas reporter about whether there was one matchup Arizona was looking forward to.

“Guys, I’m simple. What’s now, what’s next?” Lloyd said, pointing out an exhibition game against Division II Point Loma is next and a matchup against Wisconsin is the first high-profile game of the year. “I’m not surprised one bit that Arizona’s playing on the road at Kansas to finish the regular season in the Big 12 in (our) first year.

“When (the schedule) came out, I kind of smiled. There’s some senior coaches in this league that, to be honest with you, are guys I really look up to. I have no problem with those guys calling the shots. We’re here to be part of it. … If Arizona has to play Kansas only one time the first year on the road at Kansas, so be it.”

Multiple times in his run through a press conference and ESPN interview, Lloyd said he’s excited the Wildcats enter a new league having to prove a bit.

Their returning leading scorer also has a bit to prove.

Caleb Love working more off the ball in 2nd year with Arizona

It appeared that 2023-24 was Caleb Love’s redemption season.

The much-criticized North Carolina transfer landed at Arizona and fit in well, averaging 18 points and 3.4 assists per game while winning Pac-12 Player of the Year.

Love struggled in the postseason, shooting 34% as Arizona lost in the Sweet 16 to Clemson, but he appeared on track to go pro. It was a surprising development that he did not, and the recruiting fallout at Arizona and beyond showed as much. So the question became this: Why is a proven microwave scorer returning?

The Wildcats are actually talking about a continued evolution of Love’s game.

“I just knew the guys that coach Lloyd was bringing in,” Love said on ESPN. “With that, I felt like we was going to have a great chance of being a great team again, and I could develop my game and kind of fine-tune my game to the point where I feel like I’m ready when my time comes.

“Mainly moving off the ball, a lot of catch-and-shoots and playing off the catch. I’ve been watching a lot of Steph Curry this summer, especially when he was in the Olympics, using the shot-fake, things like that to create offense not only for himself but for his teammates as well. Using shooting gravity and pulling guys away to make my teammates better.”

Lloyd had some success of moving Love into a more team-friendly style last year.

The 6-foot-4 guard defended decently enough and for the first time in his college career shot above 40% while playing with a group of future pros like Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson, who are now both rookies with the Miami Heat.

Love wants to become more efficient than his 41% and 33% 3-point splits a year ago.

“In this day and age with all this media coverage and everything being so polarizing, Caleb’s been on both ends of it,” Lloyd said. “So it’s really fun to go through that process and help somebody rebuild. … He’s really attacked this year of a mindset of, let’s see if we can change a few things.”

Arizona’s roster outlook

Arizona returns point guard Jaden Bradley and K.J. Lewis alongside Love, giving the core continuity.

Second-year big man Motiejus Krivas will start at center, and backup Henri Veesaar is in his third year with the program after a medical redshirt last year.

“It’s like having juniors and seniors back in the day,” Lloyd said of all those players, who aside from the junior Bradley are all technically sophomores.

Krivas missed Arizona’s first exhibition game on Monday, a 117-54 win against Eastern New Mexico.

Tennessee transfer big man Tobe Awaka started in his place and pulled down 15 rebounds to go with 14 points.

Along with the returning perimeter players, Awaka was joined in the starting frontcourt by Oakland transfer Trey Townsend, a forward who poured in a team-high 24 points with four made threes.

Veesaar scored 19 off the bench, while highly regarded freshman Carter Bryant and Campbell transfer Anthony Dell’Orso present bench options to give Arizona high expectations for the upcoming season.

“Honestly, I’m excited to prove it,” Lloyd said of entering the Big 12. “We have total respect (for where) we’re stepping into and who we’re playing against. We understand there’s going to be a lot of people out there that want to see us prove it — from fans, to other schools, to media, to officials.

“I think when you’re in a prove-it mentality, it’s a special place to be.”

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