Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona Wildcats have made it to the Final Four round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Lloyd joined the Wildcats in 2021 as head coach after two decades of serving as an assistant with the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Joining one of the best programs in the country, Lloyd had a standard to live up to. The Wildcats have had some of the greatest coaches in basketball history. Arguably, their most notable head coach ever was the late Lute Olson.
Olson dedicated his entire life to basketball and had a legendary run with the Wildcats from 1983 to 2007. He won the 1997 NCAA Division I tournament and made four Final Four appearances with Arizona during his run.
In 2019, Olson was hospitalized after suffering a stroke. In August 2020, the great Arizona coach passed away at the age of 85.
When the Wildcats defeated the Purdue Boilermakers today in the Elite Eight round and qualified for the Final Four, current head coach Tommy Lloyd paid a heartfelt tribute to Olson.
“I know this…There’s a good-looking guy with white hair, looking down on us right now that’s happy,” Lloyd said.
This is Arizona’s first Final Four appearance in the post-Lute Olson era. After the win over Purdue, Lloyd said he was very happy for the Arizona fans, who’ve waited a long time for this moment and deserve it.
Arizona has made the NCAA bracket every year since Lloyd took over in 2021. They’ve been to three Sweet 16 rounds and one Round of 64. This year, the Wildcats are unstoppable and will play their Final Four game next Saturday.
Tommy Lloyd Refuted the North Carolina Rumors
The North Carolina Tar Heels recently fired their head coach, Hubert Davis, following the first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament. Over the last week, Lloyd’s name was added to the list of potential next head coaches for UNC.
The Wildcats head coach has had a dream run with Arizona, and he’s one of the best active coaches in the country today, so the hype around his name made sense. However, he recently made it clear that he has no plans of leaving Arizona.
“This team deserves my full focus, so there’s not one thing that is going to knock me off my path. I’m 100 percent 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,” he said.
Lloyd said that his team has been “crushing” this year, and as exciting as the UNC job opportunity might be for others, he is committed to the Arizona program.
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