SAN JOSE, California — Arizona men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd sat at the podium answering questions about his team’s Sweet 16 showdown against No. 4 seed Arkansas (28-8) in an NCAA Tournament game to tip off at 6:45 p.m. MST on Thursday, March 26. He answered questions for 10 minutes before the one he probably dreaded came up.
Lloyd’s name has been linked to the job at North Carolina, which became available when that school parted ways with Hubert Davis, after a disappointing season ended with an 82-78 first-round loss to VCU.
Lloyd gave the expected answer. His focus is solely on his team. But he didn’t say he wouldn’t eventually listen either.
“I already have one of the best jobs in the country,” he said. “One thing we talk about in our program all the time, and I think I’ve gotten better at, and I think our team has been crushing it this year, is just the ability to have full focus and be present in the moment. So I think we have a great team. I think we have a chance to advance in this tournament game by game. But I’m not delusional. I know we could lose tomorrow.”
“This team deserves my full focus, so there’s not one thing that is going to knock me off my path. I’m 100% focused on Arizona basketball and this program, and I can’t wait until the ball gets thrown up tomorrow, and then can’t wait to try to figure out a way to come out on top.”
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lloyd deflects question of interest in North Carolina job
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