Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd sees progress from his team albeit three games in. How much progress, perhaps, is anyone’s guess, although he did say “lots” has been seen.
Tuesday night was another night of moving forward after Arizona’s 90-59 win over visiting Northern Arizona. The competition is what it is.
“The guys have practiced well the last couple days. I thought the energy was pretty good,” Lloyd said of the game. “Of course, there were a few execution things I’ve looked into. You wish you could clean up, but I think all in all, it felt like the energy was better, and kind of the intent with how we want to play was better.”
So, that’s a start or at least progress. And, remember, it’s just mid-November and nothing is won in the first month, although big games vs. Auburn and Connecticut are looming.
Progress will be tested in the coming two weeks.
Still, it’s about getting better – and Arizona has to – while it still waits on word whether RJ Godfrey will become eligible at some point … maybe?
“I just don’t ever think it’s that easy,” Lloyd said of getting better. “The most important thing in a season is understanding that the season’s a continuum, and while you’re in that continuum, you gotta make progress, and so just having that mindset, that growth mindset, I think to me is the most important thing we gotta wrap our arms around.”
Finding that right mix – or person – for that forward spot (the one Godfrey would occupy) is one of the areas Lloyd must figure out. After all, Mo Krivas will need help near the basket and to get some rest.
So far, the eye test with Maksim Brnovic, Ugnius Jarusevicious and Evan Otten hasn’t been great. They are clearly a work in progress. It’s been that way from the start and on Tuesday they combined for more than 27 minutes and produced 16 points and three rebounds.
Good? Adequate? Needs improvement? Clearly the information is incomplete.
“Right now,” Lloyd said, “they just need to continue to get experience in the moment of making the right decision, and it’s not easy. It’s not easy because you have this thing called film, and you can slow it down. I get the good fortune of slowing it down and rewinding it and watching it six times and forming an opinion. They get .06 seconds.
“So, we’ve got to do a better job coaching, helping them make those decisions, and then they’ve just got to get some experience and grow from them, and not let the mistakes get them down … the mistakes you learn from, and that’s one of the coolest things you can do in this game, is learn from your mistakes.”
Again, it’s still early – and there might be a decision on Godfrey by next week. Emphasis, on might. So, it’s about getting better – because they need to anyway.
The best way to get better, Ivan Kharchenkov said, is to play. It’s about minutes and experience and making the most of them.
“Experience is the best teacher,” said Kharchenkov, who had a team-leading 20 points in the win. “I feel like that’s what taught me last year. The more they play, the more they see, the more they feel; they get better and better. Watching film and doing practice against pads is nice and cute, but when you really feel it bone to bone, it’s different.”
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