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NCAAM Men's March Madness Tommy Lloyd has been speculated around the North Carolina job opening. Lute Olson faced a similar pull. Ezra Shaw / Getty Images A couple of years ago, as the Arizona Wildcats prepared to play a road game in Texas, one of the program’s biggest stars attended a film session at the team hotel. Sean Elliott was there to talk to the players, but sitting in the back, waiting his turn, he could not take his eyes off the man in charge. Advertisement Tommy Lloyd did not miss a single detail. He was encouraging but tough, holding every player accountable. When it was over, Elliott contacted former teammates and told them: “Man, that dude knows what he’s doing. ” “It reminded me of what Pop would do, ” Elliott said this week by phone, referring to Gregg Popovich, his old NBA coach with the San Antonio Spurs. “It reminded me of what Coach O would do. ” That would be Lute Olson. After beating Purdue last week, clinching the program’s first Final Four berth in 25 years, Lloyd took control of an on-court interview. He thanked Arizona fans, always out in full force. Grabbing the mic, Lloyd then acknowledged Olson, a man he had never known well. “Hey, I know this, ” he said to the crowd. “There’s a good-looking guy with white hair looking down on us right now that’s happy. ” Watching from Tucson, Olson’s family was thrilled. “Yeah, it kind of got me choked up a little, ” said Julie Hairgrove, Olson’s granddaughter and an assistant coach for the Arizona women’s basketball team. “We still go to every game to cheer on Tommy. He’s just a class act. He didn’t have to do that, but it was a very special moment. Our whole family was like, ‘Oh my gosh! He said something about Papa Lute! ’” Olson, who died in 2020 at age 85, coached Arizona for 24 years, building it into a national power. He led the Wildcats to the 1997 national championship in Indianapolis (which is where this year’s champion will be crowned) and to four Final Fours. He is the standard in Tucson. Lloyd, at the moment, is the star. The two are more alike than you might think. Olson had a presence. And great hair. An Iowa newspaper once named him the most handsome man in the state. Mothers loved to host him during recruiting visits. He could also be intimidating and thin-skinned. Advertisement Lloyd, 51, is more West Coast chill, the type you’d like to have a beer with. About 90 minutes before a February home game against Texas Tech, the Arizona coach was dropped off in front of Mc Kale Center, where a couple hundred fans waited for the arena doors to open. Noticing Lloyd, the fans cheered. “I appreciate your support, ” the coach said, casually making his way through the crowd. The symmetry is hard to ignore. Hired in 1983, Olson took the Wildcats to his first Final Four in his fifth season. Hired in 2021, Lloyd is doing the same in his fifth year. Both are from small towns. Olson grew up in Mayville, N. D. , which had a population of around 1, 500. Lloyd grew up in Kelso, Wash. , which wasn’t much bigger. Both took the long road to Tucson. Olson coached in high school and at colleges in Long Beach, Calif. , before building a winner at Iowa, where he took the Hawkeyes to the 1980 Final Four. Lloyd worked as an assistant under Mark Few at Gonzaga for 20 years. Last Saturday at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Utah Jazz assistant coach Jason Terry walked out of the visitors locker room after a 134-109 loss to the Suns. Terry starred at Arizona from 1995 to 1999, playing a key role on the 1997 championship team. He also briefly worked on Lloyd’s Arizona staff before jumping to the G League to jump-start his pro coaching career. He has since kept in touch, texting Lloyd before each NCAA Tournament round to offer motivation. Asked about Olson-Lloyd similarities, Terry didn’t hesitate. “Their preparation, ” he said. Jim Rosborough has seen this up close. A longtime assistant under Olson, he remains active in the Tucson basketball community. Rosborough has said for years that Olson was among the better practice coaches of all time, the type who had everything scheduled down to the minute. Ballhandling — 2: 07 to 2: 12 p. m. He sees similar structure with Lloyd. “You do your work at practice, ” Rosborough said. Advertisement Former Arizona guard Matt Muehlebach notices similarities during games. Olson played 3-out, 2-in on offense, two bigs setting screens, one flashing to the high post, the other sealing inside. Lloyd also plays two bigs. (“I’m 6-7, 6-8 with shoes on, and I feel small walking in the locker room with those boys, ” former Arizona forward Bennett Davison said. ) The Wildcats run much more pick-and-roll with Lloyd, but the intent is similar: Dominate the paint. “To be a great head coach, I don’t know how many boxes you have to check, but there are a lot, ” Muehlebach said. “It’s not just X’s and O’s. I think when Lute was coaching, there were 10 to 15 boxes. Recruiting. Dealing with alumni. Dealing with the media. I think now there are another five boxes, with NIL and transfer portal and some of the things that we’ve seen change. And I think Tommy, he just checks so many boxes. ” One he hasn’t checked: Arizona longevity. A main Final Four storyline involves Lloyd’s future. He is linked to the North Carolina job, which recently opened when the Tar Heels parted ways with Hubert Davis. Lloyd might even be the top target. It’s what happens when a coach has success. Olson faced a similar pull. Kentucky twice targeted him. The first time was after his second Arizona season. Olson politely declined. The second was after his sixth season. He gave that interest serious thought. Hairgrove, the coach’s granddaughter, recalls Olson talking to the family about it. She thought he was taking the job. Instead, Olson got a contract extension and issued a statement. “We have decided that Tucson is truly home to us. In consideration of all the positive things associated with this university, this city and the state, I have indicated to (university leadership) that I would very much like to end my coaching career at the UA. ” Advertisement At a news conference Tuesday, Lloyd said he is focused on this team, this moment. It’s how he has navigated this season, one day at a time. But sometime soon, Lloyd may have to decide whether he wants to remain at Arizona, as Olson did, or try another path. “I said this the other day, ” said Josh Pastner, who played under Olson and is now the head coach at UNLV. “Tommy could stay at Arizona for his whole entire life. He could go to North Carolina and coach, or he could go to the NBA and coach. He’s going to have whatever he wants to do. The ball is really in his court for the next 10 to 15 years. ” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Doug Haller is a senior writer based in Arizona. He previously worked 13 years at The Arizona Republic, where he covered three Final Fours and four football national championship games. He is a six-time winner of the Arizona Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow Doug on Twitter @Doug Haller