McCorkle's Corner: The College Report XXVII
Home Coverage –Lloyd racks up coach awards with No. 1 seeded Arizona Wildcats; plus other local talent at the next level
.By Rick McCorkle for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com
Collegiate Athletics / Alumni Radar
The collegiate basketball season is winding down with postseason tournaments, and the accolades for Kelso High graduate and University of Arizona men's basketball coach Tommy Lloyd are starting to roll in.
After recently being named the Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year, Lloyd was also named The Sporting News College Basketball Coach of the Year.
Five years into his time at Arizona, Lloyd has constructed the best career start of any Division I men’s head coach. His 140 victories are the most ever by a coach in his first five seasons, one more to this point than Brad Stevens achieved at Butler.
Arizona ranks in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, in the top 15 in points scored and top 50 in points allowed. There is no player averaging even 16 points but seven delivering at least 9 points per game.
The official Big 12 poll of league coaches predicted Arizona to finish No. 4 in the league. They won it by two games. The preseason national AP poll placed the Wildcats at No. 13. They were No. 2 at the close of the regular season, with four first-place votes, and locked down a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed.
Arizona faces Long Island University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 20 in San Diego.
“We had a good feeling about it all along, and we weren’t trying to look for extra attention or get extra eyes on it. We wanted to go out and prove it,” Lloyd told The Sporting News. “These guys did that.”
March Madness: Tommy Lloyd 'doesn't know anyone in Longview' (UPDATED...again)
Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com
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