Tommy Lloyd Reponds To More Questions About UNC Job

As North Carolina enters the second week of its coaching search and Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona Wildcats continue their dominant NCAA Tournament run, speculation linking Lloyd to Chapel Hill has only intensified.

On Tuesday, Lloyd fielded questions from reporters in Tucson ahead of Arizona’s Final Four matchup against Michigan on Saturday. He was asked about a comment he made over the weekend that referenced a successor.

“This is a great program,” Lloyd said. “I didn’t say when, and people are going to speculate all they want. This team has my full focus. Nothing — nothing, I promise you, nothing — is knocking me off that path.

“And you guys might call them distractions because you’re distracted. That doesn’t mean I’m distracted or we’re distracted. It’s pretty cool — once you get some experience in this deal, and you’re a player or coach who’s been at it a while, you get pretty good at eliminating the distractions. So I think I’m pretty good at that, and I just can’t wait to get to practice today.”

Lloyd’s Wildcats have won their first four games in the NCAA Tournament by an average margin of 20.5 points. There were the postgame remarks following Arizona’s 79-64 Elite Eight win over Purdue on Saturday that raised eyebrows.

“You know, the sun may be shining on this team and me coaching it right now, but when it’s shining on you, you’ve got to fight like hell to protect it and build it,” Lloyd said Saturday. “So that’s what I feel like my number one responsibility is — to fight to protect the program and fight to build it for those who came before me and for those who are going to follow after me. Because you know what? Arizona is going to have another good coach after me. I promise you. The place is special.”

As Inside Carolina has previously reported, Lloyd is among UNC’s top-tier candidates to fill its head coaching vacancy. While the Tar Heels wait until the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament, Arizona athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois is hoping to sign her star coach to a new contract.

“Tommy has done a phenomenal job,” Reed-Francois said. “He’s one of the best coaches in America. We have been engaged with his representatives about a new contract since before the start of the NCAA Tournament. Those discussions will continue, and it is our goal that he retires as a Wildcat.”

Lloyd’s buyout will be $9 million starting on April 1. With a trip to the national championship on the line, Arizona faces Michigan in a battle of No. 1 seeds on Saturday at 8:49 p.m.