The offseason is here, with all of Arizona\u2019s sports done for 2024-25 season and the 2025-26 campaigns still a little ways away. <\/p>\n
Which makes this a great time to step back and see how all of the Wildcats\u2019 programs are doing and how they\u2019ve handled the move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12<\/p>\n
Over the next few weeks we\u2019ll take a look at each of the UA\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s athletic programs to see what shape they\u2019re in and what prospects they have for the near future. We\u2019ll break down each team and evaluate how it is performing under its current coaching staff, looking at the state of the program before he\/she arrived and comparing it to now while also evaluating how that program fits into its new conference. <\/p>\n
Next up: Tommy Lloyd\u2019s<\/strong> men\u2019s basketball team<\/p>\n How it looked before<\/strong><\/p>\n The Sean Miller<\/strong> era was mostly successful, with Arizona winning several Pac-12 titles and reaching the second weekend of the NCAA five times with a trio of Elite Eight appearances. But the tail end of Miller\u2019s dozen years in charge were clouded by the program\u2019s involvement in an FBI bribery scandal that led to assistant coach Book Richardson<\/strong> doing time and ESPN making claims that were never substantiated but were considered true in the court of public opinion.<\/p>\n A self-imposed postseason ban in 2020-21 served as the proper time to make a change, with then-athletic director Dave Heeke<\/strong> (as well as former school president Dr. Robert Robbins<\/strong>) opting to go with a first-time head coach. It was a true sign the school wanted to start over while also hoping Lloyd\u2019s 20-plus years as an assistant at Gonzaga under Mark Few<\/strong> had provided him with a foundation to build from. <\/p>\n Going 33-4 with Pac-12 regular season and conference tournament titles, a No. 1 seed in the 2022 NCAA tourney and a trip to the Sweet 16 made Lloyd an instant success.<\/p>\n Where things stand now<\/strong><\/p>\n With a 112-73 record through his first four seasons, Lloyd has the second-most wins of any first-time head coach to start his career. The victories have decreased (and the losses increased) each season, though, with Arizona going 24-13 in 2024-25 while reaching the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years.<\/p>\n So far, Lloyd and his staff have managed to navigate the constantly changing landscape of college basketball by blending returners, transfers and freshmen on the roster. This coming season will see the largest freshman class under Lloyd, with seven prep or international recruits set to be on the team.<\/p>\n