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Arizona Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Wildcats

By Jason Burgess

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 30: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats talks to his team during a timeout in the second half of the game against the Washington Huskies at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on January 30, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The Arizona Wildcats top the Washington Huskies, 75-72. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 30: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats talks to his team during a timeout in the second half of the game against the Washington Huskies at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on January 30, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The Arizona Wildcats top the Washington Huskies, 75-72. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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Arizona Basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd Bennedict Mathurin Azuolas Tubelis Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd Bennedict Mathurin Azuolas Tubelis Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

After moving on from the elephant in the room that had become the end of Sean Miller’s time at Arizona Basketball, the Wildcats decided to dip their toes in the pool that has been built further out west by the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Arizona went and hired longtime Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd to be their next head coach, hoping that he can bring some of the same stability and continuity of success the people in Spokane have seen for years now.

In their final season under Miller, the Wildcats were 5th in the Pac-12 and 17-9, but their 11-9 conference record placed them 2.5 games behind the upper tier of the conference that consisted of Oregon, USC, Colorado, and UCLA.

With the hiring of Lloyd, there is optimism for the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017-18, but there is probably a bit of question about what Arizona will look like after 12 years under Miller and how much of a Gonzaga influence Lloyd will bring with him.

The new head coach inherits a roster that saw its leading scorer, James Akinjo transfer to the national champs at Baylor and Jemarl Baker, Jr. took his 12 points per game to Fresno State. Returning are a pair of sophomores coming off big freshmen campaigns, Azuolas Tubelis was second on the team in scoring and pulled down a team-high 7.1 rebounds, and Bennedict Mathurin averaged 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 41% from deep.

The Wildcats begin a new era and Tucson is ready for Lloyd to take charge and here is a look at the team he has put together for his first season.

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