Arizona will take a 2-game win streak into the holiday break after destroying Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon. Normally a run so small wouldn’t be celebrated in Wildcat Nation, but it ties the longest of the season and comes after the Wildcats had dropped five of seven to fall below .500 on multiple occasions.
It was also Tommy Lloyd’s 50th birthday, so there were plenty of things for him to be happy about. His team’s performance of late stands out.
“These last two games, I think there’s a lot of positive momentum,” Lloyd said. “I think there’s been positive momentum all month. Losing that 13-point lead to UCLA stings, and we haven’t forgotten about it. But I think if you found a way to not stub your toe there, I mean, I think the mood is totally different. But it is what it is. And ultimately I like where we’re at because I feel like I know where we’re going, and ultimately we’re going to be judged by how we play in the Big 12. And so let’s go.”
The UA (6-5) is off until opening its first season of Big 12 play at home against TCU on Dec. 30.
Our game recap from the 94-41 win over Central Michigan can be found here. Below is what Lloyd, forward Carter Bryant and guard KJ Lewis said afterward:
Lloyd on winning on his birthday: “It was a good 50th birthday. It’s just a crazy number to say, but I’m glad I’m celebrating it in Tucson, I’m glad I’m celebrating with a win.”
On the offense: “It’s coming on. There’s no secret, our game is predicated on ball movement, player movement, and that’s not always easy to get, but there has to be a willingness to do it. I think our guys are getting there, and then they’re fighting for it. So I was really happy with that.”
On dealing with Central Michigan’s zone: “Theirs was more of a matchup, if we want to get into the weeds of it. There were some man to man elements of it. And so basically, what happens, in your matchup, your high post is always matched up. There’s not that big gaping hole you’d see in a normal 2-3 zone. So, you have to kind of change some of your movements, and it takes a little bit of time to get used to. And I think, kind of after our first run we kind of settled in, and our guys got a little more comfortable with how we could move against it, and we ran a few of our main sets against it, and it worked.”
On having 28 assists on 36 field goals: “We’re best when everyone contributes. We’re not a one-man show, and we never have been and and no one’s professed that we are, but we just have to have that vibe. It’s kind of like where we want to make each other better. And there’s a willingness to do that, and there’s an eagerness to do that. And I think we’re taking steps in that direction.”
On Caleb Love drawing so much attention: “He has a lot of gravity. He a lot of eyes on him. A lot of eyes, a lot of things go towards him, so he can create space for others. The last couple games that Delly maybe hasn’t started well, he told me today that maybe I should think about having finished rather than start, jokingly at the end of the game, because he’s made his last few shots in these games. But I think even starting him a little bit, it’s kind of, you feel the effects of both their gravity, it just creates some openings out there for other guys to operate and for themselves.”
On Conrad Martinez: “When I put my head on the pillow at night I want to play him, I want to play him more. Conrad is a young player. And I think you guys see he’s got something to him. And I’ve always seen that. It’s good that it’s happening in some of these games because I think now he’ll gain some confidence from that and his teammates were getting confidence from.”
On what he wants from Martinez: “You don’t have to prove to me you’re a good player. I know you’re a good player. You just got to go in there, and the team has to operate efficiently when you’re in there. So I don’t need you going in there improving to me that you’re a good player by trying to do things that are too difficult. Just drill the game down. Keep it simple. Make sure when you’re on the court that we’re flowing. If you have an open shot, take it, because I know you can make it. And let’s really keep it that simple. Sometimes with these guys, and it happens, when you have a young player or a guy that’s playing a new role, sometimes they try a little bit hard because they want to show you they can maybe do more. And maybe I just need this, this contribution right here. So stay in this lane. If you try to do more, maybe it’ll be counterproductive. So I think he’s really found that sweet spot of just kind of staying in his lane and doing this, and I think the team’s playing really well when he’s been on the floor.”
On Emmanuel Stephen: “Big E, the staff’s been on me to give him some chances and now that we know Big Mo is not probably going to be back for a while, it makes sense give him some chances. I thought today was the best he’s looked ever playing basketball. And I’ve watched him in high school, I’ve watched him there, but he looked really good today, so that was encouraging.”
On if he could see meaningful minutes in Big 12 play: “It’s still a bit of a work in progress. I think a little bit will just be like the (opponents’) style play. But the biggest thing is going to probably be fight and fouls. If we need fight and there’s foul trouble, E-Man’s a great guy to give an opportunity.”
On Carter Bryant: “I can really see huge progress in the last few weeks. I think he’s kind of settling in and figuring out how to make an impact. But one of the greatest things about Carter when he was young is his ability to pass the basketball and his willingness to pass it. I think we’re kind of seeing that again, and then he can also make a catch-and-shoot three. He showed that again, and he’s got a better understanding what we’re trying to do defensively, and he’s kind of settling in, and I think that’s exciting for Arizona basketball.”
On Bryant’s relationship with Lewis: “I think there’s a little bit of a big brother, little brother deal there. Carter is a guy who is loved by all you know, but he’s got two younger sisters. He’s always been the oldest sibling. I think KJ has kind of taken a little bit of a role in his life as just kind of the guy that’s here too, an older mentor. Hey, I’ve been through this. This is what you got to be thinking about. And here’s how you got to approach it. There’s going to be some tough days. Carter is an emotional guy, and so is KJ, so I think it’s important for both them to talk things out, talk to each other through tough times. It can’t always come from Coach, because sometimes coming from me, the message might be pretty direct, or it might be a little a little abrasive. So when they can get it from each other that support is amazing.”
On how the team has stayed connected: “Since kind of our initial struggle started, we probably have been a little more intentional with how we’re going to drive things within the culture. That could be meetings. That could be a shared video clip. It could be a conversation. And at the end of the day, your culture and your vibe is the most important thing, because that’s going to be the bedrock foundation of everything that you do. Sometimes results get us distracted from them. And in order to reset, you can’t just, like, focus on the result. You got to kind of focus on the bedrock foundation, which is your culture. We got to get back to that. And I’ll just say this about culture: there’s no perfect culture. Any culture, especially within a highly competitive team environment, is something you’re working on every single day. And there’s going to be some good days. There’s going to be some tough days. We maybe scaled things down, a little bit, really simplified, and kind of gotten back to how we want Arizona basketball to feel.”
On what he wants his players to do over their holiday break: “Rest, relax, love your family, hang out. Get hungry, because we know when we come back we’re excited to be starting this Big 12 thing we’ve been talking about for 20 months. We’re fired up, we’re hungry.”
On the impact of Motiejus Krivas’ injury on the entire team: “A player moves a position that opens up an opportunity, Big Mo goes out. So that opens up an opportunity for maybe Carter to get more minutes at the 4, or E-Man to get a few more minutes at the five. And then when Carter goes to the 4, that kind of opens up some opportunities in those three backcourt spots for hose main four guards—KJ, Caleb, JB and Delly—to rotate amongst the spots. So now maybe you can mix in Conrad here and there.”
Bryant on the team’s improvement: “We’ve been really close the past few games, in the big games we’ve had, it’s not like we’ve been blown out of the water. So we knew it was just a slight adjustment,. Making sure guys are getting the right shots and making sure we’re getting the ball to the second and third side, so it makes the game easier for us, rather than just coming down and getting a shot within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. And I think for the past two games, everybody’s seen that the ball started to pop more.”
On his expanded role including time at the 4: “I love it. I just love being on the floor and playing basketball. Giving me more opportunity to be on the floor is hard, when you’re playing next to guys like Anthony Dell’Orso and KJ, they’re big time guys. They’re guys that are elite. They do really good things on both sides of basketball. But I think also being on the floor with them at the same time, I think it brings just a spark that nobody else is going to have in the country. Two big guards that can rebound the basketball, can push, can defend. I think it’s going to be hard for teams in the Big 12 to kind of see us as the season goes on and we get more accustomed to the physicality and things of that nature, for us to be stopped.”
On dealing with adversity: “We see each other’s work every day. We do care for each other and love each other as brothers. We see each other in the gym every day. We see each other pushing each other. So just understanding that there’s so much more basketball than actually playing the games. There’s so much more work that goes in, the unseen hours of guys all throughout the team. So understanding that we just can’t splinter. We have to stick together. We have to galvanize, we have to reinforce everything, so when the time comes for us to kind of blossom—I feel like you see a lot of teams every year that blossom really early, and late in the season you’re like, wow, they looked great early in the season. But what happened?”
On Lewis serving as a mentor: “Everything can be hard adjustment for a freshman, whether you’re on or off the court, but I think having guys I have around me and them being leaders, especially KJ. He’s just been talking to me, telling me to keep going. He’s a guy last year, everybody saw what he’s capable of, coming back this year. He just doesn’t want me to lose confidence. So he’s just been preaching constantly, constantly bringing healthy and positive energy to me. He’s been a large part of why the transition has just been easy.”
Lewis on the performance the last 2 games: “I think just the week of practice, we emphasized getting back to Arizona standards. Moving the ball, making the right plays for our teammates and being connected on the offensive side. And then we also ran a lot of zone, so we knew if we moved the ball and cut we could get anything we wanted.”
On if Arizona is being more aggressive: “A hundred percent. We’ve been more aggressive on our approach, on offense, rebounding, making sure we’re connecting passes. And just being a team that plays together. I think early in the non conference we were still trying to figure it out. It was not like we were getting blown out. There was a few stretches that we didn’t have those moments that we’re having now. We needed these two games going into this little break, but also going into the Big 12 opener on the 30th.”
On the biggest takeaway from nonconference play: “The team getting through adversity. Not splitting up, staying together as a whole group through the ups and the downs. And I think we needed it. A lot of teams in the country are going through it, but we’re a team that sticks together and that is still figuring out, and we’re right there.”
On Martinez: “He had a great game today, and it also gives him some confidence. He’s a general out there. He can really pick apart defenses on any coverage. He just gives us a different dynamic when he he’s out there.”
On Love scoring 20-plus for the second game in a row: “We need that. He’s being a lot more aggressive but also playing into to our system, finding the right shots for him and for our team. We have no problem with how he’s playing. I think it’s really great, it spaces the floor out for drivers like me, Carter, Jaden, because when he hits a few, like the first two, it’s hard for teams to help off him. And then he’s playing mind games, back door cuts and all that. It just opens the whole offense up for us, for sure.”