Arizona dismissed Cal Poly 104-84 deep into the night on Thursday. It’ll likely do the same against Northern Arizona on Tuesday night (yada, yada… one game at a time).
But, to be fair the two aren’t UCLA.
So, what does UA coach Tommy Lloyd hope to get out of games like Thursday and likely Tuesday?
More playing time for those that won’t likely get it? Lineup possibilities? Players gaining confidence?
“Probably all the above,” Lloyd said. “We’re just figuring it out, which is awesome. We’ve been together for a while and obviously we did stuff in the summer, and it’s so crazy sometimes how you think, oh, we’re good, we’ve been together, we got to figure it out, and then you go kind of get in these real games and all of a sudden it just doesn’t feel the same.”
They eye test tells you he’s right. This team needs work and maybe lots of it. He knows it. You know it. He called the effort “up and down.”
So much so he told True TV after the game: “We can’t rebound or get loose balls. We’re allergic to the loose ball. And you can’t win high level games if you can’t get loose balls.”
There’s even a sense of frustration from Lloyd, who is trying to work his magic on a roster that needs – no, NEEDS – RJ Godfrey to become eligible.
“When you’re playing, you’re always fighting for your rhythm, fighting for that feeling of playing good basketball, and you kind of know what it is, but it’s hard to describe,” he continued. “Once you capture it, you don’t get to keep it forever. It kind of ebbs and flows, comes and goes. You just got to find ways to get in that whatever, for lack of a better word, (a) zone more often. I think that’s what we’re trying to figure out: what it feels like to get there, and to get there collectively as a group. What an awesome challenge.”
Thursday was another chance – as Tuesday will be. Mo Krivas led the way with a career-high 30 points (a far cry from his ?? on Monday night). Ivan Kharchenkov added 16 and 10 rebounds, Cameron Holmes added 13 and Caleb Holt added 21 points.
But they too see what Lloyd sees.
“Like Coach has been saying, it’s gonna take some time,” said Holt, who looked like the player many thought he would/could be. “I feel like with this group we all love each other, and we all came here from different schools. So, our first couple games, it’s not gonna be all pretty. We all love each other and want the best for each other. We’re gonna find a way to be even more connected than we are. We get better every day.”
Well, that’s the plan. Maybe the Godfrey situation will be settled by then, but who knows, given he’s taken a different approach to get on the court by suing the Arizona Board of Regents/UA. All he wants to do is play.
So, everyone sits and waits – except for his teammates who are trying to find their way. To me, it’s much like two years ago when UA was still figuring things out when they lost Krivas to a foot injury early in the season and was under .500 in December.
Lloyd said he wasn’t sure about that in part because “we’re so new into it,” he said. “I wish guys I could sit here and say, yeah, I knew we were in this position, and I knew this was how it’s gonna be, but I didn’t, because I’m not gonna lie to you, I didn’t know.”
What he does know is he has “a good team” and that they “are figuring it out.”
“I didn’t know exactly how it’s going to feel,” he said. “So, I can only coach to what I’m seeing, and so I’m just trying to stay in the moment myself, and make sure everyone has a good day off tomorrow”
And then get back to it on Saturday for Tuesday’s game.
“We’re kind of figuring out what we want the next push to be,” Lloyd said.
Recommended for you
