Arizona's Lloyd Talks Pressure of Reaching Final Four

They’ve been a good team all season, consistently ranked inside the top-five in essentially every metric, and in the AP Poll. For a team that started the season 23-0, getting to the Final Four felt more like a goal rather than a dream. 

Arizona’s Youth Has Impressed 

Most impressive is the fact that Arizona has gotten this far despite having tons of youth and inexperience on the roster. One can argue that the freshmen trio of Brayden Burries, Ivan Kharchenkov, and Koa Peat have been the team’s most impactful pieces this season, with Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley, a senior, providing the leadership and mentorship needed to help them thrive. 

Ahead of the Final Four, Lloyd was asked if reaching the Final Four gave him a sense of relief and accomplishment, knowing that his group had achieved a milestone not seen in decades for the program. 

Lloyd’s Thoughts 

• “I mean, I don’t know, nothing's ever easy,” Lloyd said. “The moment you think it’s easy, it’s over. So, I wouldn’t say easier, I would just say from my personal experience, two things. So, I was at a program that had done really well, and had never made a Final Four."

• "When we made the first one, obviously it was a big deal. But, we didn’t have a history of having been there before. So there wasn't necessarily that heartache that goes with not being where you had been before.“

• "To me, I think Tucson and the program were wearing it a little bit. I do,” Lloyd said. “Because we've had so many good players and so many good teams, I'm sure we could go through 10 scenarios, like, ‘Yeah, they could have made it.’ My guess would be 10 teams out of those 25 years probably been good enough to go to a Final Four, if one thing or another went their way."

• "It didn’t happen. So, to be able to kind of get over that hurdle, I mean, I really felt a collective sense of joy and relief from the community.”