Tommy Lloyd and Boswell Apologist Thread

[LeftCoastCats]

Lloyd is still on pace to have the best record in any head coach's first three seasons. Unless you're Wooden in year 20 at the helm, nobody is going undefeated. So yes, tough losses happen. When you lose to the only other legitimate contender in the Pac-12, there's no shame. Move on and focus on the next opponent without crying (I'm implying that fans are crying, not the team).

The team is crying. Boswell's meltdown today proves there is dissention in the ranks. I am 100% validated in pointing it out all along the way. There's no hiding it. Tommy is finally pissed off about it. Now I do expect to go undefeated. The Wash St loss took us off the 1 Line for good most likely. No, you can't win them all, but you also don't enable bad habits along the way.

Today could mark a big turning point for the program if Tommy does the right thing.

Does everything in your life run on defcon 5 reactions? Take a breath.

The Boswell stuff is bad, dude looked his age when he was getting disciplined in public. I'm glad Keshad was there to help him through it as much as he could or it could of been much worse.

Boswell's play today confirmed what a lot of critics have been saying. That attitude and mindset on display has no place in a winning program and culture - regardless of skillset. I absolutely agree that Boswell needs some significant coaching right now, which could easily neccisate a move to the bench.

However, to be clear - it's not nearly approaching a Chris Rodgers choking Lute Olsen moment.

Tommy's decision on the issue is magnified.

That said, the reality as I understand it is -our team is at it's best when Boswell is locked in and playing like we know he can. To that end, our national title hopes are highest when Boswell is playing like we expect him to. So, yeah - Bradley could possibly help now. It's the only option right now - but at what cost?We're not nearly the threat for national title contention without Boswell playing at a high level. Regardless of Bradley's play or starting position - we're simply arranging seats on the Titanic.

Simply, we work to get Boswell going or adjust our expectations.

Again, breathe.

Simply, we work to get Boswell going or adjust our expectations.

I just disagree. I do not believe our "Title Hopes" are better with Boswell. I think he is toxic to the team.

I think that fans want Boswell to be something he isn't. I think Tommy has become an Enabler of whatever problem there is going on.

You don't need to be the best team to win March Madness. You just need to play good enough basketball. You certainly cannot play bad basketball. Boswell plays bad basketball more than he plays good basketball.

We don't need Bradley nor even Love to be a hero. We just need 5 guys to play the game the right way. Whatever that means since there is no specific right way. For us, there is only "Tommy's way" because he is the Coach so you either play his way or his system doesn't work. It seems to win more often than not, but in terms of the Madness, I do not think it is designed to win 6 games in a row. Tommy is not flexible enough in his early, novice years. Maybe he will learn to be more adaptable and play more players over the course of his Head Coaching career. Maybe he will take the time to work with all of his players during practice eventually.

He took this job and he took an extension. He doesn't get the benefit of the doubt from my POV. He is in the deep end. Sink or Swim. So far he is sinking when it matters most. I've seen this in other sports. Lamar Jackson does the same thing in the NFL. Tons of regular season wins. Tons of individual awards/success. Nothing to show for it in the Postseason and in fact looks Terrible in the postseason. Made to look foolish. Tommy is very similar so far. Only Lamar, Only Tommy can change their own narratives.

Today we witnessed Boswell mentally checked out as I have been saying for months. We saw Tommy have no backbone by putting him back in the game in the 2nd half. I think any other Arizona Coach like Lute or Sean would have benched Boswell. Maybe for good. This is a major "wait and see" now.

For me, the sooner Boswell is taken out of the equation the sooner we can get chemistry back. The enabling needs to stop.

I think that's a reasonable point of disagreement. I'm fully encamped in the belief that Boswell playing at potential/expectation makes Arizona the best team possible. I find it hard to entertain the idea where that isn't true, but such is opinion.

[arxpert]

I think that's a reasonable point of disagreement. I'm fully encamped in the belief that Boswell playing at potential/expectation makes Arizona the best team possible. I find it hard to entertain the idea where that isn't true, but such is opinion.

People fuck up. People make mistakes all the time. People sometimes learn from them, sometimes they don't. However, in this situation Boswell is a Professional Student Athlete. Keyword is Professional. Paid.

Tommy nor the University does not owe Boswell any help nor rehabilitation opportunity. Tommy may run into this issue with another player down the road and handle it differently, but right now Tommy is too young in the game of being a Head Coach to understand how to handle this type of situation. A stronger, more experienced Head Coach would know exactly what to do whether it be to get the best out of Boswell or to make sure that the problem is no longer present amongst the rest of the team so as to stop the bleeding that is occurring within the team.

Paid, Professional Athletes shouldn't get the luxury of being fuck ups and disrespectful in front of the entire team and paying Fanbase in the Home Arena. I am taking the word "Student" out of the equation because I am done pretending any of them are here to learn a damned thing that doesn't have to do with their sport or fitness.

I view this situation as a critical moment where Tommy can establish what type of culture he wants going forward into a new Conference where we will not be playing patty cake with cupcakes all year.

It has become of my opinion that Releasing Boswell from his scholarship would be a great start. Yes, come after me. I know that will not be a popular take, but far be it for me to ruffle any feathers around here when I am the one who has the ball sack to tell the hard truth.

I do realize we are close to the finish line of this season and it is EASIER to just let bygones be bygones and sweep it under the rug, but I would maybe offer Boswell one chance at dignity to finish these final 4 games of the regular season, then I would relegate him to sit on the bench and be available for practice only and if he cannot accept the punishment, I would remove him from the program.

I would do this before the Pac12 Tournament on purpose. No Pac12 Tournmanet, No Big Dance.

The only way to send a real message to kids who have no respect is to takeaway their privileges or at least make it clear that being part of this team is a privilege not a given.

I would take the opportunity to showcase his talents away. If there ever was a way to create a teaching moment for a cocky player who is not invested in the program at all it would be this.

If that scares Recruits off, Good. My long time forum buddy and contrarian KC the CAT always talks about not wanting 5* players. Well the more talented players are the bigger the ego. In this era College Basketball is just like High School. Every year a new school for the best players. Tommy can always find 23 year olds who want to win and prove they can compete at the next level whether it is domestic or abroad whenever he wants. There is no skill to it anymore. Just a matter of Find and Fit. I think there should be no fear in recruiting now. Team building is not set in stone via recruiting HS players as the rules currently stand. Of course subject to change.

I am of the mindset that we are now in an unspoken Zero Tolerance Era. If you are getting the money, you are to be Professional and follow a Code of Conduct that is above that of a normal type of college kid who is caught drinking some beers in the Scoronado dorms.

Getting a M.I.P. or kicked off campus/academic probation is 1 thing for an actual Paying student, but if you are a Paid Professional you should be subject to outright termination.

Maybe the influencer era of isn't ready for what I just said. Maybe they think they are untouchable, but soon enough there will be more and more Professional rules in place where maybe even in this instance somewhere down the line, Tommy would be able to Fine Boswell real Money for his actions. This is not too farfetched.

If these kids want to run around with millions of dollars at age 18-20 then they should learn the ramifications that come with the lifestyle. These Basketball and Football Programs are always said to not really be part of the University in a traditional sense and are their own Money Makers/Businesses. I think we are very close to seeing what a Business looks like for these kids.

I hope Tommy raises the bar. He is young in the Head Coaching game. I think he will find over time that dealing with prima donna's takes more than just being a nice guy. These kids should respect their Head Coach who has given them the platform to succeed.

[KansasCityCats]

Here's the culture that Lloyd is building: Arizona is currently ranked 6th nationally, is in sole possession of 1st place and will likely finish in the Top-15 for the 3rd consecutive season.

Since the painful collapse of 2005, Arizona has only finished in the Top-15 rankings FOUR TIMES.

Our roster will be reloaded next season & the future is bright, assuming you want to look at the bright side of the program.

[arxpert]

Here's the culture that Lloyd is building: Arizona is currently ranked 6th nationally, is in sole possession of 1st place and will likely finish in the Top-15 for the 3rd consecutive season.

Since the painful collapse of 2005, Arizona has only finished in the Top-15 rankings FOUR TIMES.

Our roster will be reloaded next season & the future is bright, assuming you want to look at the bright side of the program.

That's not a culture, that is just riding pre-existing talent hitting the ground running. This year he has hit some rough waves and the only thing that kept this team afloat was the random addition of Caleb Love who wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. Without Caleb, this would be a completely different narrative. Luck does play a factor. Let's hang out hats on that. Let's also remind everyone that since the collapse of 2005, there was actually a Coach that put Arizona back on the map that people in this forum disrespect for not winning Elite 8 Games by a bucket or so. Meanwhile those same people are acting like human Bidet's for Tommy who has done far less with much more of a head start. So I am going to keep it real until Tommy proves me otherwise. I've done enough Tommy appreciation posts over 1 per season average. I've even done some player appreciation posts. Tommy will get an appreciation post if he wins the Pac 12 Title as well as the Pac 12 Tournament. In that order. He will not get a preemptive appreciation post acting like he won the National Championship until he does. Get it? Got it? Good.

[KansasCityCats]

Interesting how it becomes "luck" when we were in this same situation over the past two seasons without Caleb Love. There seems to be a consistent recipe for success throughout the regular season and the staff deserves credit.

Miller kept Arizona relevant but his ONE season of holding on to a top-5 ranking just wasn't enough to keep the fans excited. Perhaps he'll rewrite the books at Xavier if he can get above .500 next season.

[arxpert]

Interesting how it becomes "luck" when we were in this same situation over the past two seasons without Caleb Love. There seems to be a consistent recipe for success throughout the regular season and the staff deserves credit.

Miller kept Arizona relevant but his ONE season of holding on to a top-5 ranking just wasn't enough to keep the fans excited. Perhaps he'll rewrite the books at Xavier if he can get above .500 next season.

First of all Tommy fucked away the Pac12 Title last year. He barely won the Pac12 Tournament on a game that clearly was the last stand of the team as it had nothing left to offer vs Princeton.

Second of all Year 1 was still Miller's players. I don't care what you think of the system. Mamba Mathurin is an Elite Superstar and Koloko finally took a leap to become around a 70% FT shooter where before with Miller as a 3* Raw Sports Goggled nerd he couldn't hit a FT to win a game vs Oregon and you all blame Miller for that when we know that isn't the case. Miller had to fight to get Kerr to America and didn't get a chance to do anything with his team because of the Ghouls. Finding the greatest assembly of foreign talent in the history of college basketball on the fly is completely underrated in the lore of College Basketball. Tommy did not sit with Koloko and fix his FT shot. It was pure natural progression that was coming either way. That team was going to be "THAT TEAM" under Tommy or Miller. Lest we forget Miller had Top 5 Defensive Teams and Top 5 Offensive Teams during his tenure. He was never a 1 trick pony. And you don't get to "final shots/moments" by not adjusting throughout games.

Finally, Maybe it wasn't enough to keep a few knuckleheads here "excited" after the TJ McConnell group graduated, but no one complained when Miller smashed Duke in Year 2 in the Sweet 16 and no one complained when Miller pulled together some of the best classes of recruits in Arizona History amidst the false FBI allegations.

So I think it is comical how many people subscribe to recency biases and I know for a fact that all of the same people will be turning on Tommy sooner than later if he continues to squander away these 1 and 2 seeds.

Without Caleb Love, this team would be nothing like you are imagining the prior 2 teams were. Guaranteed. If I am wrong about that, then bringing in Love was a terrible idea. Pick one and stick to it.

[KansasCityCats]

Any animosity towards Miller for inheriting a stellar roster at Xavier and in Year 2, turning them into a sub-.500 dumpster fire?  I'm pretty sure they aren't in line for a 3rd consecutive top-2 seed, despite having an even better starting lineup when he took the job two seasons ago.

[arxpert]

Any animosity towards Miller for inheriting a stellar roster at Xavier and in Year 2, turning them into a sub-.500 dumpster fire?  I'm pretty sure they aren't in line for a 3rd consecutive top-2 seed, despite having an even better starting lineup when he took the job two seasons ago.

Stellar? By what metrics? Their best player was horrifically injured when he arrived and he took the rag tag leftover bunch to the Sweet 16 I believe?

[KansasCityCats]

Absolutely. Jones, Nunge, Freemantle, Kunkel, Hunter, Edwards, Tandy, etc.

Tons of upperclassmen that were already heads and shoulders above the rest of the Big East. Plus, Miller talked Boum into transferring.

No shortage of depth or talent at XU in Miller's first season.

[arxpert]

Absolutely. Jones, Nunge, Freemantle, Kunkel, Hunter, Edwards, Tandy, etc.

Tons of upperclassmen that were already heads and shoulders above the rest of the Big East. Plus, Miller talked Boum into transferring.

No shortage of depth or talent at XU in Miller's first season.

Injuries and those players were not/are not NBA 1st round level talent like Miller brought into Arizona. Miller didn't get a chance to recruit going to Xavier. I will defend his honor. Don't think for a second Miller isn't going to take the leap back to a Blue Chip University. He is a Top 8 overall HC in College Basketball. Your attempt to gaslight is failing.

Miller has done far more with far less and he provided Tommy with Superstars to start with. No one got a head start like Tommy in the history of Basketball. I am 100% confident Miller would have lead Year 1 Tommy's team all the way. There is not a single shroud of doubt in my mind. Tommy isn't Him until Tommy proves otherwise. Deal with it.