What Tommy Lloyd said after Arizona's win over BYU: 'I trust my guys'
The Arizona Wildcats did not flinch on Tuesday night.
Trailing BYU 61-60 with 10:51 left in the game — and 19,000 fans in full throat at the Marriott Center — Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd resisted calling a timeout and instead let his players respond in the moment.
"I trust my guys and I don't ever want to be the first guy to call a timeout," Lloyd said after the game. "I don't know, it's kind of the old Phil Jackson thing right? You will if you have to. You've got to swallow your pride sometimes, but I trust these guys to figure it out. What's more powerful than a timeout is a response."
And Arizona's response was swift. Caleb Love drilled a 3-pointer to give Arizona a 63-61 lead — a lead the Wildcats would never relinquish on their way to an impressive 85-74 road victory over the Cougars.
Love finished with 18 points, and Jaden Bradley and Henri Veesaar added 17 apiece to help Arizona improve to 10-1 in the BIg 12.
Here's what Lloyd had to say after Arizona's road win over BYU.
BYU Fans 'Have Always Been Amazing'
"It's an honor and privilege to compete here. I mean a lot of you probably know my history a little bit. I've played here a lot of times and you always cherish the opportunity to play at a place like this when you show up. Fortunately I've been with Gonzaga and Arizona, so when I've come here the game's meant something. The fans have always been amazing and it's always been something we look forward to."
Arizona 'Is Playing So Much Better Than I'm Coaching'
"Our theme for the week was habits, and what an opportunity to test your habits in a hostile environment. Are you going to get rattled? Are you going to lose focus on the game plan or who you are when the crowd gets going or they make a shot or a ref makes a call? And what an opportunity to practice your habits. And we were able to do that today in an amazing atmosphere.
"And these guys, they crushed it. They're playing so much better than I'm coaching now. It's not even close. And that's when you know you've got a good team. I'm really proud of these guys for how they've responded, but we've got film coming up and we've got a big game on Saturday so there's no let up and we love that about the Big 12."
Jaden Bradley Is 'The Consummate Point Guard'
"Jaden's becoming the consummate point guard. He understands winning and we were working on it early and he's such a compliant player and person. It was just finding that balance of how aggressive do you need to be early versus running your team. And I think he's really settled into a sweet spot where he's just running the team and he just literally makes the right play every single time. I told him he's a way better point guard than I am a coach, and thank you for that."
Lloyd On Halftime Adjustments
"I said guys 'it's 41-41. We played a hell of a half in a hell of an environment ... there was no switch to flip. I mean let's just go out possession by possession and win the game.' I didn't have to talk to JB and pull him aside and say be more aggressive. Nothing like that because he knows what to do to win and when you have that as a coach — what a luxury."
Lloyd On BYU's Scouting Report
"Honestly we stuck with our plan and we knew that they were going to run a bunch of ATOs and counters to actions and stuff like that. In a two-day scouting report, your first time playing against a coach and a new team in a new conference, you don't have all the tells or tendencies. You just have to rely on the players. I was watching out there some of the actions and counters that they were running from our end and literally our guys were solving it on their own. Which was amazing. They just didn't get a lot of great shots. Maybe they had a few okay ones. They missed them and we were able to get the rebound."
Lloyd On Caleb Love's Big 3-Pointer
"I think they made a big three and then I think Caleb made a big three (to go up 63-61). That's way more powerful than me calling a timeout and I've always believed in that. ... I had my timeouts in my mind all night when I was going to kind of implement them, but it seemed like we just didn't need them and I kind of felt good about the rhythm of the game. I didn't want to make the game disjointed because I liked the feel of how it was going."
