LOS ANGELES—Arizona has reached the Sweet 16 twice in the first three year under Tommy Lloyd, but both times it has lost in that round to a lower-seeded team. Does that make the 2023-24 season a disappointment?
“We’ll analyze all that after the season,” Lloyd said shortly after the 77-72 loss to Clemson. “I’m proud of these guys. These guys did an amazing job this year. They’re a great team. They’re a team that we had the ability to get to a Final Four and we didn’t. And that happens. It’s nothing to look down upon. There’s probably eight or 10 teams that can say that this year, and only three or four of them will probably actually get to the Final Four.”
Our game recap can be found here. Below is what Lloyd and Arizona’s players said afterward, both in the postgame press conference and the locker room:
Lloyd on the season as a whole: “I’m proud of these guys. They dug deep all season we worked really hard on taking the next steps of our culture with Arizona basketball, really hard, and we’re very intentional with it. These guys are great … and they really allowed me to kind of continue to build on the foundation of what we started at Arizona and what was there before us.
So I’m thankful for that, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re just going to continue to build on that foundation. We’re going to continue to get teams that are this competitive, and our day in the sun will come.”
On Clemson: “They were the deserving team today. They kind of have a little formula now. They’re kind of jumping people in the games, three games in a row they got up and forced teams to play from behind.”
On coming back from down 13 to lead in the 2nd half: “We dug deep and we got ourselves back in the game but we were just never able to take that next step. (Clemson) executed a few really good plays down the stretch that they got us on. They banked in a 3. And those things make it tough to overcome.”
On the slow start: “I thought Clemson did a good job and kind of got us on our heels offensively early in the game. And we settled for a lot of tough shots. And then that’s what kind of allowed them to get out. Because I think our defense was actually okay early, low scoring early and we were right there. And then they got it going offensively a little bit and we just never quite did until later in the first half.
On the halftime adjustments: “The second half we made a more concerted effort. We wanted to attack their guys, move the ball, attack, drive closeouts, play with our feet on the ground in the paint. And our guys did a much better job of that in the second half.”
On being down 8 at the half despite the poor start: “I thought we were fine. I mean, we didn’t play well the start of the game. We were only down eight at the half. As you guys who have followed us know, we had other games we were down 19 or 20 and been able to come back and win them. So I thought we were fine. I thought we were well-positioned for how we started the game.”
On Clemson responding after Arizona took the lead: We made that first run in the second half, which was great. And from there, they’re going to probably make a little run. But then hopefully it’s a little one and we make the next run and we can kind of eventually build a four-, six-, eight-point lead. And we were never able to do that. So Clemson gets a ton of credit for that.”
On the shooting performance: “I think our starting guys that shoot 3s were 2 for 23, which is a lot to overcome, and I feel like some of them were good looks and shots we’ve made all season, and today they just didn’t go in.
On being in the game late despite the shooting: “I think our guys deserve a ton of credit. To have that sort of shooting night and get yourself in the game where you have a position to win, and I think it’s incredible. And it just shows the resiliency and toughness of these guys. We kind of had to adjust plans and our guys were willing participants in that. So I’m really proud of them for giving themselves a chance to win.
On Jaden Bradley: “Without JB playing the way he did, maybe we lose by 14, 16 points. But JB got in there and we were down to the last minute and gave ourselves a chance. On a night where we didn’t shoot the ball well.”
On not having Oumar Ballo in late and the defensive breakdowns that came in his absence: “We were just trying to give it a different look, pick our pressure up the court a little bit. At that point you’re hoping you get opportunistic with a loose pass and someone can break on that, just things of that nature. We were probably in a bit more of a pressing mode and get a switch at all five positions instead of the four positions. (Clemson) found an answer down the stretch and they were able to get, like, I think, maybe three baskets off slips versus switches, which we just didn’t execute well enough and they get credit for executing.”
On the season when he has a chance to reflect: “Love. I love these guys. I love the culture we’re starting to really build at Arizona. I feel like I’m real big on eventually getting some compound return on our investment. I think we’re going to do that. I think we’re doing all the right things. Obviously we’re not perfect and no one is, and we don’t ever want to be perfect. We just want to be making progress. So I love where we’re at. I think I wasn’t ready to take a breath but I’m going to take a breath and we’ll re-evaluate, and we’re going to have another really good offseason and continue to build.”
On Keshad Johnson and Caleb Love’s leadership and experience: “They’re incredible guys. I’m so thankful that they took a chance on coming to Arizona and playing for our staff. I mean, it was an incredible experience, all offseason and season long. I’m just thankful. It reinforces to me that you can do the things the right way, run the right culture and put your team in position to compete at the highest levels. So we’re just going to double down on all that. Those guys reaffirmed my belief we need to continue to do it with great, high-character guys.
Jaden Bradley on his 16-point 2nd half: “We got to a little slow start in the beginning. So halftime we harped on dig deep, dig deep, get stops and do whatever it takes to help my team.
Bradley on Arizona coming back multiple times: “ We harp on toughness. In the beginning we weren’t so tough, but I feel at the end we did a great job battling and trying to get stops. But Clemson did a great job with their plays and their shot making, and we couldn’t really get over the hump. We had the lead a couple times but they kept battling as well.”
Bradley on being the last Pac-12 team standing: “I’d just say that being the last Pac-12 team, proud of the guys and proud of our coaches and our culture. We’ve been harping on that all year. We were able to achieve the goal we wanted to achieve, but still a tight group. Still love each other. Still love each other off the court. So it’s good.
Bradley on his play this season after transferring from Alabama: “Shout out to the coaches and players for taking me in and helping me develop my game. I was familiar with Coach Lloyd and the culture. And just have a fresh start, kind of seemed like. He did a great job of helping me achieve my goals.”
Oumar Ballo on rebounding: “Rebounding wins games. And I wish we did a little bit better job of that on the offensive glass and also on the defensive end because (Clemson scored off) two offensive rebounds in a row. It was kind of, like, killers. I wish we did a little bit better job boxing them out.”
Caleb Love on his performance: “Obviously I couldn’t make shots. I should have been there for my team. We had a lot of good looks, we just couldn’t finish it. I felt like they were all good shots, the majority that I took. I should have gotten more downhill.”
On making a comeback but not getting over the hump: “Credit to Clemson, they came out to play. We fought back multiple times. They were the better team today. We thought we had them. We pushed through, we had the momentum. Down the stretch we couldn’t get stops. We were getting stops, the momentum shifted for us and we were on our run. Towards the end of the game we had some defensive breakdowns that were crucial.”
On his time with Arizona: “I love these guys. We’ve been through so much. I’m sad we couldn’t finish it. I feel like I learned true brotherhood. I’m grateful to be on this team. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
On playing against the zone in 2nd half: “We knew they were going to play zone, we knew they were going to switch things. The zone, we tried to get the ball inside as much as we could, but it was difficult.”
KJ Lewis on building off this season: “For me, I’ve always been a guy … I don’t dwell on it too much. I loved this team, loved the seniors we had, but I’ll use this for motivation to prepare for the time. I never really rest. I’m not going to lie, I’ll probably be in the gym this week. That’s how my mind operates. It’s just unfortunate, we had a special group.”
Kylan Boswell on his season: “A rollercoaster would probably be the word I’d say. Highs and lows, it’s part of basketball. This summer I’ve got to change a lot of habits. Get more locked in on my mental (side) and body, for sure, and just prepare for whatever comes next in my life.”
Keshad Johnson on if he felt things had turned for Arizona after the comeback: “Things did turn, we were able to take a lead, and the momentum was on our side. Basketball is a game a runs, we came out the second half and made our run.”
On if it was frustrating to see Clemson keep punching back: “It’s not frustrating, it’s just basketball, you gotta just try to get it out. We made our run, they made their run, we made our run, they made their run. They just came out on top. We tried what we had to do, we tried to switch some things up. There was able to capitalize off our mistakes.”
On his time at Arizona: “All glory to God, I prayed about where I was going to be at after the national championship game and he brought me here. I felt like I did a good job leading my team.”
Pelle Larsson on his Arizona career: “It’s been the biggest joy in my life. I’m gonna miss everyone I’ve worked with.”
On the shooting performance: “There was a lot of just that we just missed that were open. We didn’t do as good a job crashing as we’ve done in other games. I’m pretty sure we won the rebounding (battle) but we could have done way more.”
On Clemson jumping out to a big lead: “They made a lot of shots in the first half, it felt like they couldn’t miss.”
On the start of the 2nd half: “We said at halftime we were going to punch them the first four minutes and we did. Credit to them they responded and made some changes and kept it tough from there.”
On if so many missed shots can lead to being tentative: “At this time of year you can’t second guess anything. You know what type of player you are, you know what’s open and you have a feel for what you can make, what’s a good or bad shot. I thought we had a lot of good shots, they just didn’t go in.”
