Chatted with the head coach this afternoon. The majority of the transcript ahead of Saturday's matchup inside the United Supermarkets Arena.
Opening Statement: “Yeah, looking forward to Saturday and being back. Having the students here makes such a big difference, and college basketball is not the same without students. So looking forward to all the students in attendance, and Arizona's playing really well. Tommy Lloyd is not only a great friend, but he's a terrific basketball coach, and you can just see, the more time he's spent with his team, the better they've gotten. I mean, they're really an efficient team offensively, they're playing with great pace, and they’re offensive rebounding really well, and then defensively, they've just gotten really solid. You can see their pieces are more connected and to win on the road at the places they've won at, they’re really good teams. We’re really excited for the opportunity.”
What’s it going to take for the first Big 12 home win?: “You know, the biggest thing for us is just having great possessions and finishing possessions. And I don't care if it's a road game that you win or a home game that you lose. I think the common denominator is, I thought coach Self said it well last night after the Iowa State game last night. I think we're playing hard, but I think there's a difference between playing hard and competing, and I think our team's trying to figure out how to stay in games, to do we want them to do. But then there's a different expectation when you're out there and all five guys are playing the way to compete. And if you ask me, kind of what the finish to the Iowa State game was, I thought our guys were playing really hard, but like, what's the collective compete level that we understand what we're all doing, and we're not out there independently, playing hard. So I don't think it's a matter of effort. Honestly, I believe it's, it's the real character of competitiveness together that we're trying to build, and that'll be the difference in this game Saturday.”
What can you take from that one up in Manhattan?: ” Yeah, I mean, going back and looking at the game against Kansas State, I think it's both, honestly, I think you can take away, man, we did some great things. I loved a couple of our last few possessions defensively where we were scrappy and we came up with a loose ball. So that part of it you love, because that's kind of what we missed against Iowa State at home, was to finish those possessions. But then offensively, there was a fatigue level involved, I think, in our turnovers that led to some really poor possessions. And you know, JT, not being 100% did impact us. Darrion Williams twisting his ankle and not being 100% did impact us, but it put us in a bind a little bit where we played some guys longer than we wanted to. And I thought fatigue really lent itself to some careless possessions and lack of flow to what we wanted to get to. We just couldn't get to the next action like we wanted to. And it was obvious that we weren't playing with the motor that we needed to on the offensive end. Our compete level was what it needs to be defensively…It’s kind of those extra effort possessions that even though it was ugly, is the pretty ugly, because it ends in a win.”
Could you touch on your relationship with coach Lloyd?: “Yeah, Tommy Lloyd, he's a remarkable person. First and foremost, he really is. He's a dear friend. And the thing I respect the most about Tommy is I feel like he's one of those guys that when things are at their worst, he's at his best, and he's got a resilient way to him where he sees people when it gets difficult, and he's compassionate, but his expectation never changes. And I think that's a unique quality. Not many people have the ability to relate to people when it gets difficult. And he's he's really exceptional. One example, I mean, we're playing for gold this summer, and we go in the locker room, and we played well, but we didn't play our best, and got ourselves in a close game. And the first thing he did was just apologize to the team, because he felt like he didn't do it perfectly in regards to substitutions. And I think it just diffused the team that probably could go in there and complain about, man, we didn't rebound it well, we didn't compete enough defensively. And he's just got a heart for people, that's real, and the relationship parts the one that part of it that I appreciate the most, even though he's a brilliant coach and really does a great job with his team.”
Do you believe coach’s Lloyd’s character is part of the reason why Arizona has been able to turn it around in league play?: “Yeah, and the fact that Tommy's character is there, obviously, but it's his enjoyment of it being difficult. I just don't think he shies away from it. I mean, I think there's an embracing of that, that there's a fear sometimes that goes with things don't go your way. Like, is it ever going to turn around? He just doesn't see it that way. He's just like, these are the things that we need to do better. I do see him not being results based, in regards to his approach, he is process based, and I think he commit to that, and he can build a team, because that's the way he approaches it. It's, it's something I really admire.”
So what has Arizona been able to turn around to be 5-0 in league play?: “Well, I think they're fundamentally, significantly better offensively, one. They’re the most efficient eFG% team in our league right now, and they took that from us. I think that was us turning the ball over at the end of the game the other day, and us not having all the pieces. What it looks like to me is their guards are making simpler plays, and they've really pared down what they do best, and they're committed to it, where before I thought a lot of guys were trying to prove that they could score, and with new teams that’s usually the case. And the other thing is, they're really solid defensively, I mean their effort level and their compete level at the forward spots specifically, you can see they're a connected team. They're not turning people over as much, but they're really in the right spots and playing hard. And you can see those improvements. And they're always going to be a great rebounding team. It's what they do well because their size, but specifically position wise, defensively, you can see their improvement.”
How has your confidence grown in Christian?: “I can tell you the part that I've loved about Christian Anderson is just his growth defensively. I mean, his motor has been there, but he's got a different rotation savvy to him right now. I thought he had a couple of closeouts on Hausen in the game against Kansas State that showed not only was he alert of what we needed to do, but who he was defending and how quickly he got there to take away actions. Now it's just about finished on those physical plays where you don't come up with the with a foul when he's actually in the right position. It's just finding a way to be physical at the right times. And I think his motor's there now. It's the nuance of doing it right. And that's the part I love about Christian Anderson right now, is he's got great skill. He can score. He's unbelievable in ball screens. He loves his teammates, but his defensive awareness and ability to make the right play at the right time is just skyrocketing for us.”
We are a local Farmers Insurance Agency located in Lubbock, Tx that is Red Raider owned and operated! We serve the entire state of Texas offering Auto, Home, Life, and Commercial products while striving to educate and help provide our clients with the correct amount of coverage for their needs, at an affordable price!
Opening Statement: “Yeah, looking forward to Saturday and being back. Having the students here makes such a big difference, and college basketball is not the same without students. So looking forward to all the students in attendance, and Arizona's playing really well. Tommy Lloyd is not only a great friend, but he's a terrific basketball coach, and you can just see, the more time he's spent with his team, the better they've gotten. I mean, they're really an efficient team offensively, they're playing with great pace, and they’re offensive rebounding really well, and then defensively, they've just gotten really solid. You can see their pieces are more connected and to win on the road at the places they've won at, they’re really good teams. We’re really excited for the opportunity.”
What’s it going to take for the first Big 12 home win?: “You know, the biggest thing for us is just having great possessions and finishing possessions. And I don't care if it's a road game that you win or a home game that you lose. I think the common denominator is, I thought coach Self said it well last night after the Iowa State game last night. I think we're playing hard, but I think there's a difference between playing hard and competing, and I think our team's trying to figure out how to stay in games, to do we want them to do. But then there's a different expectation when you're out there and all five guys are playing the way to compete. And if you ask me, kind of what the finish to the Iowa State game was, I thought our guys were playing really hard, but like, what's the collective compete level that we understand what we're all doing, and we're not out there independently, playing hard. So I don't think it's a matter of effort. Honestly, I believe it's, it's the real character of competitiveness together that we're trying to build, and that'll be the difference in this game Saturday.”
What can you take from that one up in Manhattan?: ” Yeah, I mean, going back and looking at the game against Kansas State, I think it's both, honestly, I think you can take away, man, we did some great things. I loved a couple of our last few possessions defensively where we were scrappy and we came up with a loose ball. So that part of it you love, because that's kind of what we missed against Iowa State at home, was to finish those possessions. But then offensively, there was a fatigue level involved, I think, in our turnovers that led to some really poor possessions. And you know, JT, not being 100% did impact us. Darrion Williams twisting his ankle and not being 100% did impact us, but it put us in a bind a little bit where we played some guys longer than we wanted to. And I thought fatigue really lent itself to some careless possessions and lack of flow to what we wanted to get to. We just couldn't get to the next action like we wanted to. And it was obvious that we weren't playing with the motor that we needed to on the offensive end. Our compete level was what it needs to be defensively…It’s kind of those extra effort possessions that even though it was ugly, is the pretty ugly, because it ends in a win.”
Could you touch on your relationship with coach Lloyd?: “Yeah, Tommy Lloyd, he's a remarkable person. First and foremost, he really is. He's a dear friend. And the thing I respect the most about Tommy is I feel like he's one of those guys that when things are at their worst, he's at his best, and he's got a resilient way to him where he sees people when it gets difficult, and he's compassionate, but his expectation never changes. And I think that's a unique quality. Not many people have the ability to relate to people when it gets difficult. And he's he's really exceptional. One example, I mean, we're playing for gold this summer, and we go in the locker room, and we played well, but we didn't play our best, and got ourselves in a close game. And the first thing he did was just apologize to the team, because he felt like he didn't do it perfectly in regards to substitutions. And I think it just diffused the team that probably could go in there and complain about, man, we didn't rebound it well, we didn't compete enough defensively. And he's just got a heart for people, that's real, and the relationship parts the one that part of it that I appreciate the most, even though he's a brilliant coach and really does a great job with his team.”
Do you believe coach’s Lloyd’s character is part of the reason why Arizona has been able to turn it around in league play?: “Yeah, and the fact that Tommy's character is there, obviously, but it's his enjoyment of it being difficult. I just don't think he shies away from it. I mean, I think there's an embracing of that, that there's a fear sometimes that goes with things don't go your way. Like, is it ever going to turn around? He just doesn't see it that way. He's just like, these are the things that we need to do better. I do see him not being results based, in regards to his approach, he is process based, and I think he commit to that, and he can build a team, because that's the way he approaches it. It's, it's something I really admire.”
So what has Arizona been able to turn around to be 5-0 in league play?: “Well, I think they're fundamentally, significantly better offensively, one. They’re the most efficient eFG% team in our league right now, and they took that from us. I think that was us turning the ball over at the end of the game the other day, and us not having all the pieces. What it looks like to me is their guards are making simpler plays, and they've really pared down what they do best, and they're committed to it, where before I thought a lot of guys were trying to prove that they could score, and with new teams that’s usually the case. And the other thing is, they're really solid defensively, I mean their effort level and their compete level at the forward spots specifically, you can see they're a connected team. They're not turning people over as much, but they're really in the right spots and playing hard. And you can see those improvements. And they're always going to be a great rebounding team. It's what they do well because their size, but specifically position wise, defensively, you can see their improvement.”
How has your confidence grown in Christian?: “I can tell you the part that I've loved about Christian Anderson is just his growth defensively. I mean, his motor has been there, but he's got a different rotation savvy to him right now. I thought he had a couple of closeouts on Hausen in the game against Kansas State that showed not only was he alert of what we needed to do, but who he was defending and how quickly he got there to take away actions. Now it's just about finished on those physical plays where you don't come up with the with a foul when he's actually in the right position. It's just finding a way to be physical at the right times. And I think his motor's there now. It's the nuance of doing it right. And that's the part I love about Christian Anderson right now, is he's got great skill. He can score. He's unbelievable in ball screens. He loves his teammates, but his defensive awareness and ability to make the right play at the right time is just skyrocketing for us.”
We are a local Farmers Insurance Agency located in Lubbock, Tx that is Red Raider owned and operated! We serve the entire state of Texas offering Auto, Home, Life, and Commercial products while striving to educate and help provide our clients with the correct amount of coverage for their needs, at an affordable price!
