2023 6'7 SG Thierry Darlan will take an official visit to Arizona on 9/30/22

[KansasCityCats]

There were four double-digit Postseason losses for Miller, including a first round home NIT game against Buckner.

During his 10 year tenure, he earned a #1 seed ONCE (same as Lloyd thus far).

I think it's absolutely fair to assess Lloyd after all of Miller's players are gone. It's inevitable that he will continue to win titles (conference and postseason tournaments).

[arxpert]

Not 1 march madness loss in the 2nd weekend was a thrashing like you are speaking to and a 1st round exit happens to everyone as i mentioned with all of those premiere programs being embarrassed way worse than ours during that tenure. I will take losses by 1 or 2 buckets in sweet 16/elite 8 games all day knowing that we were on "that" level and it could have gone either way. That is what elite coaching gets you in the madness. A 1 off upset in the 1st round  can happen to anyone and is why the tournament is not that important on my list of course.

PS No one cares about Bucknell. The players didnt want to be there, the coach didnt want to be there. it was a flat out embarrassment that the admin forced them to play so that they could line their pockets hosting a game. #Ghouls

[KansasCityCats]

If the Buffalo game wasn't an embarrassing thrashing...the Houston loss last year was considered a nail biter.

[WerderBremen]

I posted this in the shoutbox before. Darlan played three world cup qualifiers. Here are his stats

https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/african-qualifiers/player/Thierry-Serge-Darlan

[arxpert]

If the Buffalo game wasn't an embarrassing thrashing...the Houston loss last year was considered a nail biter.

There's a lot of agree to disagree overall. This thread is really about an international recruit and how Tommy is losing the recruiting battles inside of America. It also is about projecting how long Tommy can sustain success with this strategy. As always, at least we get to find out.

The best players should always play.

I don't care where they came from.

I do think Tommy is just as stubborn as Miller in a lot of ways so far and I am not interested in recruiting players with lower ceilings just because they will be 4 year players. In this new era we cannot bank on anyone staying in Tucson that long and also it takes a lot less skill for recruiting if every year a Coach falls short and just takes a bunch of 21-22 year old transfers to fill a roster and try the "upperclassmen/ men vs boys" strategy as a cop out/fall back.

So if the better players are International than so be it. This is something I alluded to in another post where I believe if Ramey and Henderson are going to be heavily relied upon, they will probably be outplayed by better Domestic competition. Any "leg up" on the competition is important and if we have to Zig while other teams Zag to do it, then so be it until enough Elite Domestic talent has interest in coming to Tucson again.

[AZ to VA]

This is the same playbook that Gonzaga ran for 20 years in recruiting. They have always mixed international talent in with American talent

[arxpert]

This is the same playbook that Gonzaga ran for 20 years in recruiting. They have always mixed international talent in with American talent

Agree. However Sean Miller was the best Overall International recruiter over the past decade and he mixed higher level American talent with it. Tommy is either being out-recruited or simply aiming lower when it comes to American talent.

[KansasCityCats]

It isn't consider "aiming lower" if you are searching for local prospects that WANT to play for you (beyond one season).  The one-and-dones destroyed all hopes of winning national titles in Tucson, during the course of a 6 season period from 2013-2019.

[WerderBremen]

I don't even see any reason why one would think Lloyd is aiming lower.

[arxpert]

It isn't consider "aiming lower" if you are searching for local prospects that WANT to play for you (beyond one season).  The one-and-dones destroyed all hopes of winning national titles in Tucson, during the course of a 6 season period from 2013-2019.

I remember Lute Olson recruiting Andre Iguodala who was a One and Done and that 2003 team was an 8 or 9 seed losing in the 1st round with Shakur, Salim, Hassan Adams, Iguodala, and Channing Frye as the starters. Then next year, Iguodala is gone and we get to the Elite 8 as a 2 seed? I forget, but Lute blows the 15pt lead with 3 minutes left to Illinois. Yet no one really dings Lute for that one. I guess the haters can always say.. well Miller never had a 15pt lead to blow with 3min left in an Elite 8 game. But he sure did coach 3 games down the final possession(s).