Tommy Lloyd and Boswell Apologist Thread

[KansasCityCats]

A "good team" is balanced. Despite an awful performance from Girard, their best shooter, Clemson had six guys step up and play well.

It wasn't a head coaching difference; it's a simple statistic that doesn't involve the scapegoat/blame of a coach: 3 point shooting. One team went 8 of 25 and one went 5 of 28. They took a similar amount of attempts so it isn't a difference in "strategy".

To downplay Hall's abilities is naive. He's a first team All-ACC and he has just as much ability to go off against his opponents as Kaminsky. Arizona held him under his average but other guys stepped up.

[|ᴘ|ʀ|ʏ|ᴍ|ᴇ|]

Welcome back my dude. I thought you were gone for good, jettisoned into some barren wasteland. Forum should be less dead now.

[arxpert]

Welcome back my dude. I thought you were gone for good, jettisoned into some barren wasteland. Forum should be a lot less dead now.

I wouldn't get too used to it Pryme Time. The forum and CBOX is way too toxic for me lately.

I am probably only going to be creating my own posts and commenting on them like the two I created and have held to be true all season long.

I don't think it is necessary for my to contribute to the conversation on other posts.

If people want to come to my posts and discuss the topic, great. If not, no worries.

There has been far too much nastiness for my taste over the last few weeks I watch between other members going back to when USC dominated us at the end of the regular season and I am very tired of seeing that nastiness, personal attacks and the such being allowed, enabled and rewarded while I get attacked personally constantly and don't even whine about it.

So I will just stick to the sports facts and truths time to time on my own posts and let everyone else's misery have each other's company.

[arxpert]

A "good team" is balanced. Despite an awful performance from Girard, their best shooter, Clemson had six guys step up and play well.

It wasn't a head coaching difference; it's a simple statistic that doesn't involve the scapegoat/blame of a coach: 3 point shooting. One team went 8 of 25 and one went 5 of 28. They took a similar amount of attempts so it isn't a difference in "strategy".

To downplay Hall's abilities is naive. He's a first team All-ACC and he has just as much ability to go off against his opponents as Kaminsky. Arizona held him under his average but other guys stepped up.

Thoroughly outcoached from Tip Off. Couldn't establish any offense. No rhythm. No flow. Tommy just made his choices and the team lives/dies with them. Telegraphed as always. Amateur Coaching. Just deal with it.

Next season will be interesting. Either Tommy can sustain this level or he will be exposed for hiding in a weak conference the last 3 years.

For now 1, 2, and 2 seeds were fully squandered with all the talent and tools needed, but not good enough coaching to do anything with it. These seeds don't grow on trees. They are hard to come by.

However, since Tommy proved he can acquire them, he is now held to the standard of achieving them every year. It's no different than any other Elite Arizona Coach. High Seeds were always expected. When Miller got his high seeds he got Elite 8's and Good showings in them.

Lute had some terrible losses with High Seeds, but people always gave him a pass because of making a Final 4 once every 4 years or so for a 12 year period, but winning it all with a mediocre season as a 4 seed in a 1-off that no one has ever emulated again. That shows the randomness of the Madness. Either way, standards were set and Tommy doesn't get any free passes nor excuses going forward.

I think Tommy gets at least 2 to 3 seasons to show what he can do in the Big12 Super Conference.

If there is no progression then I think that we will see some changes. He certainly isn't getting more than 5 more years without getting to the next level. An Elite 8 doesn't even feel like progression to me, but he will have to make it in the next 1-3 seasons regardless if not further.

He has his contract, but that doesn't mean much anymore.

Tommy will need to show he can win Big12 Championships / Big12 Tournaments and not regress to a mid-level Big12 team that gets 6-11 seeds in the Big Dance and makes little runs, but doesn't really have the sauce. These last 3 years Arizona has been heavily favored to make Final Fours if not win it all. Especially this season served up on a Silver Platter to get to Glendale, AZ. Couldn't have been more scripted up for the appearance. A true shame.

Either way the show goes on. I have laid out the truth and the expectations. Tommy created something with his own players this season and there is no going back on it now. There has been a standard set by Tommy himself and I am definitely interested to see if he can keep this going and improve.

However, for now, he has squandered everything he has worked for with the most talent (deepest pool of players to utilize) in Arizona Basketball history top to bottom. I don't think it was a total failure of a season, but it was a failure of a Tournament for the 3rd year in a row. When you get the 1/2 Seeds AND you get the golden pathway, you do the right thing and Coach it properly. You don't mess around thinking we are going to run all over everyone. We barely got through Dayton and that is because Dayton got scared and stopped playing "their game".

You don't have to like what I say. You don't have to even agree. However I am right, the truth hurts, and this all comes from someone who puts the lowest stock of the "Big 4" in March Madness.

That is: (in order of importance)

1. Conference Title
2. Conference Tournament Banner
3. Recruits/Transfers/Team Building
4. March Madness Success

PS - Jaden Bradley may have played his last game as a Wildcat. He put the team on his back 2 games in a row and single handedly earned himself a major NIL pay raise. He may get a big offer from another school he can't refuse and transfer out because the money is what matters if he isn't going to make the next level. It will be interesting to see what happens there especially if Boswell isn't hitting the road to somewhere like a Boise State as he should.

Interested to see how the roster changes and shapes up.

[FOOS]

A "good team" is balanced. Despite an awful performance from Girard, their best shooter, Clemson had six guys step up and play well.

It wasn't a head coaching difference; it's a simple statistic that doesn't involve the scapegoat/blame of a coach: 3 point shooting. One team went 8 of 25 and one went 5 of 28. They took a similar amount of attempts so it isn't a difference in "strategy".

To downplay Hall's abilities is naive. He's a first team All-ACC and he has just as much ability to go off against his opponents as Kaminsky. Arizona held him under his average but other guys stepped up.

IMO Tommy refused to break the zone and allowed the team to chuck 3s all night.  When it obvious we weren't knocking down shoots there should have been some adjustments.  Clemson played some great D and kept our guards non-factors

[CactusCat]

I give t. lloyd 7 more years to reach the Elite 8. I'm patient but only up to a point.

[arxpert]

I give t. lloyd 7 more years to reach the Elite 8. I'm patient but only up to a point.

I can't. I know my booster circle won't. The word I have is there will be a 2 to 3 year trial heading into the Big12. Tommy is going to have to clear some hurdles. From what I've been told, it sounds a lot like this is a "start over" point for Tommy. If he can sustain his level and meet his expectations I will definitely be impressed. If he reverts to a team that is scraping to get into the Dance or a team that is habitually a 6-11 type of seed then there will be some calls for changes sooner than 7 years. 1 to 3 seed is about where I believe his limit should be. 4-5 Seed would be the maximum acceptable output should be. No one is perfect, but one thing Tommy has done well is "Win". There is no reason that needs to change. 25-30 Wins is the benchmark.

He will need to prove he can hack it with the Big12 Super Conference (Not a weak patty cake Pac12)

He will need to continue to win OOC and challenge for the Big12 Championship Immediately.

He will need to keep up his recruiting and actually use the players he has recruited. Not just stack rosters and force players to sit on the bench. It is time for him to show he can coach a deeper set of rotations. This year he got to about 7 players. Now he should be around 9 with the types of players he "should" be able to retain. (Hoping Bradley stays)

He will need to make a good run in the Conference Tournament which will be pretty difficult to win, but as the Super Conference era is beginning I am curious to see what types of coaches are the ones who will focus their efforts on the Madness and bail on the Conference Tournaments when they have a good idea where they will be seeded vs if there will be pride in winning what is likely a far more difficult tournament due to the "Neutral Court" being a melting pot of In-Conference Fanbases and it is a blood bath of high level teams clashing. No 6 game March Madness slate will include some sort of path like TCU, BYU, Iowa St, Kansas, Houston etc.

A lot to do from here.

[AZip]

BEER

[arxpert]

BEER

One of the biggest regrets I have this season about some of my impactful threads on this forum is simply just how spot on right I was about them. From the jump it didn't take me long to realize what was going on.

I really wish I was wrong at least on most of this stuff, but I'm not and in the end we, the people, end up a jaded fanbase by large.

I see some upside overall with the likes of Boswell and Ballo out of here, but man if the word "Squander" had to have a face associated with it, I would put Tommy Lloyd's right up there with others like Jim Kelly and even Lamar Jackson. It is rough.