Kentucky Basketball: 20 candidates to replace John Calipari as Head Coach

Tommy Lloyd

Bringing a coach with a winning pedigree to town is definitely the goal and Lloyd fits the bill. He has the shortest head coaching career among any of these many names but certainly has been a winner throughout his collegiate career. That includes way back to his playing days and years as a collegiate assistant at Gonzaga.

A former small forward at several West Coast schools, Lloyd spent more than two decades helping Mark Few build Gonzaga into a national power. Known for his international recruiting, Lloyd was directly involved in bringing numerous stars to Spokane and helping get the Bulldogs to two national title games. His head coaching career began when Arizona hired him in 2021. In three seasons he has two Pac-12 Tournament titles, two regular season titles, and two trips to the Sweet Sixteen.

Lloyd is a hot name in coaching circles who’s been a winner both on and off the court. However, his entire career has come on the West Coast and it’s uncertain how he’d fare off in the SEC. He also only has a few seasons of experience and his teams have been upset a couple times in the Big Dance already. That’s exactly what Kentucky doesn’t want to see in their next leader after recent struggles with Calipari-led teams.