Tommy Lloyd named Coach of the Year by The Athletic

For years, Lloyd was an integral part of the Gonzaga power structure, running Mark Few’s offense and becoming the best recruiter overseas in the college game. He’s had no issue moving one chair over.

Lloyd has crushed in his first year at Arizona, leading the Wildcats to a 31-3 record and sweeping the Pac-12 regular-season and postseason titles. He inherited a great roster, sure, but he kept it intact and then made it even better with the addition of a few transfers. He then put his own spin on the program, pushing the pace and installing the offense he ran at Gonzaga. He’s made the pieces fit seamlessly, turning a really good team into a great one.

Providence’s Ed Cooley was the runner-up in this category, receiving four votes. Providence was picked to finish seventh in the Big East and won the league outright for the first time in school history. Wisconsin’s Greg Gard also received two votes and also made the prognosticators look foolish — our preseason media poll tabbed the Badgers 10th. They shared the league title with Illinois. Houston’s Kelvin Sampson also received a vote after winning another American Athletic Conference title despite losing three starters off last year’s Final Four team and then losing two starters this year to injury.