UA coach Tommy Lloyd hoping 'common sense prevails' in lawsuits including Godfrey's

Court case activities in Indiana, Ohio and New York were among those in the news for their five-for-five lawsuits earlier this week, while Colorado’s class-action case and the Georgia case involving Arizona forward RJ Godfrey remain top of mind for the UA men’s basketball team.

It remains unknown if it will all somehow result in Godfrey being able to play for the Wildcats in time for their Nov. 2 season opener and beyond. Godfrey can play Saturday in UA’s Red-Blue Showcase because it is technically an intrasquad scrimmage, but as of earlier this week, he remained ineligible for games because the Georgia Court of Appeals stayed a preliminary injunction that would have allowed him to play.

So which way will the winds finally wind up blowing?

“I don't pay attention to the blow by blow of it, but I definitely get filled in,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said Wednesday, during a preseason media gathering at McKale. “It's obviously been a situation. I'm sure everybody's got their opinions on it, but I hope common sense prevails.

“I mean, it's pretty tough that one group of kids that had nothing to do with anything are the ones that don't get a benefit from what everyone else gets to benefit from.”

That was pretty much what an Indiana judge ruled while issuing a preliminary injunction for plaintiffs in that state's five-for-five case Wednesday, saying the terms of the 2026-27 NCAA Manual show that the class of 2022 players should be eligible.

The Manual’s Bylaw 12.6 says players have a five-year window to play NCAA sports starting when they enroll in a regular college academic term or turn 19, whichever comes first.

But the Manual does not mention, as did a June 23 NCAA release, that players who completed four years of eligibility last season are excluded from the five-year window. The NCAA's press release noted that athletes who just finished four seasons last year had completed their eligibility under the rules in place during the last academic year, and thus would receive no additional eligibility.

Meanwhile, the Colorado and Georgia injunctions have both been stayed, freezing Godfrey, while UA has also not cleared him institutionally to play in games. Godfrey did not play in UA’s three exhibition games in Lithuania and will not play in UA’s three exhibition games this month unless things change legally.

“I don’t know the exact ins and outs and everything, but I know it's in the process and in the system,” Lloyd said. “He’s a great kid, and we're 100% supportive of him, and I'm optimistic it's going to work out for all parties.”

At the same time, Lloyd has been forced to make contingency plans. When the Wildcats were without forwards Koa Peat and Dwayne Aristode briefly late last season, they moved small forward Ivan Kharchenkov over to power forward — and could do the same this season if needed.

“People are forgetting last year when Koa got hurt for a couple games, Ivan got some extended run at the four, and I think we went into Houston and won,” Lloyd said, referring to UA's 73-66 win on Feb. 21 last season. “I thought that's a pretty good win. So there's lots of ways to slice and dice it.

“Hopefully we'll have all hands on deck. That that would make us the best versions of ourselves, but we'll be ready to adjust when the time comes if necessary.”

During his media conference Wednesday, Lloyd indicated all his players should be available Saturday, including guard JJ Mandaquit, who was limited in the offseason because of a foot injury he suffered last season at Washington.

Lloyd said he was “100 percent” certain Mandaquit would be able to play Saturday, though athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie has made precautionary moves with the guard in recent practices.

“He's out there for practice most of the time,” Lloyd said of Mandaquit. “Every once in a while, I look over, and they pull the plug on him, and I just keep it moving. That's J-Rock's job, and I got a lot of respect for J-Rock (Kokoskie) and (conditioning coach Chris) Rounds on how they handle and manage that stuff.

“I'm happy with where JJ's at. I appreciate those guys helping him get there.”

During what was Lloyd’s first local media appearance since before the Wildcats left for Lithuania, he reflected on what’s happened since then. UA went 2-1 in Lithuania, opening with a loss to the Lithuanian national B team, but beating the Ukrainian national team and the Lithuanian senior team.

The Wildcats then returned home, took two weeks off, then began limited workouts before full-length practices began this week.

“The trip was a heavy lift,” Lloyd said. “You put your team through a lot because you prepare to go there; it's a pretty intense short preparation, and you travel. Then you get there and get hit with real competition. It kind of slaps you right in the face.

“I thought it was a lot of positives from it. When we got back here, I wanted to make sure that everyone got a chance to refresh and reset, coaches and players. I love being on the court and I love being with them, but I also think when I give others space, it's good for the players, and I think it's good for our staff.”

Lloyd did lose one staffer before the trip, when assistant coach Ken Nakagawa left to become an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz’ G League team, a move Nakagawa said was a “small step” toward his goal of coaching in the NBA.

Lloyd said Nakagawa was unselfish and a “tireless worker” who benefited the Wildcats in scouting and player development.

“Ken and I had a special connection,” Lloyd said. “We have this long, I don't even know how long, email chain going, just exchanging ideas. I would ask him to research certain things or give me feedback on this and that, and we really communicated well with each other for a lot of years.

“Moving to the NBA has always been a dream of his, and he got an incredible opportunity … he went for it, and I have no doubt that he's gonna crush it.”

Lloyd said he had “some things in place” for a replacement assistant coach but that he couldn’t announce it yet because of procedural hurdles that remain.

Meanwhile, a recently departed Wildcat has dug into the NBA: The Toronto Raptors converted the two-way contract of second-round pick Jaden Bradley into a four-year standard contract worth a total of $9.3 million – with the first year guaranteed, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

According to Last Word on Sports, the Raptors moved Bradley into their 14th guaranteed roster spot while taking only a modest salary cap hit because Bradley was a second-round pick. Bradley's deal also allowed the Raptors to open a two-way slot for guard Malachi Smith, who played 15 games for the Nets last season.

“It's awesome,” Lloyd said. “Maybe it happened a little bit earlier than expected. I don't know all the ins and outs of why those things sometimes transpire at certain times. But JB is somebody we have a lot of belief in. We're thankful for everything he did for us, and I'm excited for him to get to get this shot.”