The men's college basketball coaching carousel is heating up after news broke Sunday night that John Calipari was leaving Kentucky for Arkansas, prompting speculation about who could replace Calipari as the Wildcats' coach.
Alabama's Nate Oats, UConn's Danny Hurley, BYU's Mark Pope, former Villanova coach Jay Wright and Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan were a few of the names often mentioned as a potential successor to Calipari in Lexington, but another name on several lists caught our attention.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd.
Could Lloyd leave the Arizona Wildcats for the Kentucky Wildcats?
Check out what Kentucky basketball head coaching candidates lists are saying about his candidacy to take over for Calipari as the men's college basketball coach at the University of Kentucky.
More:Kentucky basketball coach speculation with Tommy Lloyd heats up after Scott Drew news
USA TODAY Sports: Tommy Lloyd in the top tier of candidates to replace John Calipari
Dan Wolken writes: "The numbers speak for themselves. In three seasons as a head coach, Lloyd is 88-20 at Arizona with two trips to the Sweet 16. And at age 49, he’s probably just getting started. Though he recently signed a new deal with the Wildcats, this is a bit of an unstable time at Arizona with school-wide budget issues, an upcoming conference change from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 and a new athletics director in Desiree Reed-Francois. Though it would cost a lot of buyout money to get Lloyd out of that deal – upwards of $12 million – it’s worth it if you think he’s the guy who can deliver championships."
Kentucky basketball next coach odds:Billy Donovan, Tommy Lloyd, Mark Pope new favorites
Louisville Courier Journal: Tommy Lloyd candidate for Kentucky basketball coach
Ryan Black writes: "After spending 22 seasons as Mark Few's right-hand man at Gonzaga, Lloyd took over as Arizona's coach in April 2021. He's been a rousing success so far, setting an NCAA record for most wins by a head coach in his first two seasons (61) and three seasons (88). Lloyd, who has won 81.5% (88-20) of his games in three seasons, boasts a pair of Pac-12 regular-season titles as well as two conference tournament championships."
More:Arizona's Tommy Lloyd speculated as 'realistic' option for Kentucky job on social media
SB Nation: Tommy Lloyd 5th on list ranking next Kentucky coach by likelihood
Ricky O'Donnell writes: "Lloyd has clearly been an awesome hire for Arizona, leading the program to a No. 1 seed and two No. 2 seeds in the NCAA tournament since coming over from Gonzaga. He also hasn’t been past the Sweet 16 yet, which isn’t good enough for the Wildcats. Kentucky knows how frustrating it is to lose to teams you shouldn’t lose to in the tournament, and that makes someone like Lloyd too big of a leap of faith this time around."
More:Arizona basketball shocked by Clemson in Sweet 16, eliminated from March Madness
A Sea of Blue: Tommy Lloyd would be 'a nice get' for Kentucky
Ethan DeWitt writes: "Lloyd has done great things at Arizona in his first three seasons as a head coach, winning 88 games, but he’s had some tough NCAA Tournament shortcomings. He’d still be a nice get."
More:Arizona's Tommy Lloyd questioned, slammed after Sweet 16 March Madness loss to Clemson
College Sports Wire: Kentucky could target Tommy Lloyd as next head coach
Andy Patton writes: "After 20 years as an assistant coach at Gonzaga under Mark Few, Tommy Lloyd hit the ground running at Arizona in 2021. He’s earned top seeds in each of his first three years, went 33-4 in Year 1 and recruits at an extremely high level. Actual success in the big dance still eludes him, however, and with a loss to 15 seed Princeton last year Kentucky fans might be hesitant to hire a coach with so little experience and overall tournament success."
A to Z Sports: It would be tough for Tommy Lloyd to turn down Kentucky
Zach Ragan writes: "Tommy Lloyd is 88-20 in his first three seasons at Arizona. He hasn't advanced past the Sweet 16 yet, but that's a pretty good start to a head coaching career (especially since he was an assistant coach at Gonzaga for 20 years before landing the job at Arizona). Lloyd is a west coast guy and is likely comfortable at Arizona, but it could be tough to turn down Kentucky."
Reach Jeremy Cluffatjeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com.Follow him on X, formerly Twitter@Jeremy_Cluff.
Support local journalism: Subscribe toazcentral.comtoday.
