Despite D-I credentials, Arizona's Liam Lloyd content with scout-style role on dad Tommy's roster

Mostly green, actually.

That’s because, while opting to spend his extra “COVID year” of eligibility with his father’s program at Arizona this season, Lloyd has transitioned from a starting role with the low-major Lumberjacks to a prime spot on UA’s practice team of walk-ons and deep reserves.

Known unofficially as the “green team” since it often wears green jerseys pulled over UA’s standard reversible blue/white practice jerseys, the squad’s purpose is often to provide head-to-head competition against the regular rotation players in practice so those players don’t have to split up and can develop chemistry together.

Or, on some occasions, the green team can serve as a third team to rotate into drills, along with blue and white teams of regular rotation players. And before games, some green team players will serve on a scout team, mimicking the styles and skills of an upcoming opponent in competition against the regulars.

This is what Liam’s role is about now. He started 57 of 66 games over the past two seasons at NAU, averaging 6.2 points last season, and now is expected to start zero.

Maybe he gets in a game for a minute or two, maybe not.

His mom, Chanelle, wondered about that. But, in a story UA coach Tommy Lloyd relayed last month, Liam explained to her that “if I have to play, dad is not doing his job.”

When asked to verify that explanation during an interview before a practice Friday at Richard Jefferson Gym, Liam Lloyd chuckled.

“For sure,” Liam said. “That is true.”

He’s not complaining. The way Liam explained it, playing at UA is about helping his father’s team while learning about the coaching profession he intends to pursue — and, as a new father, receiving some family support off the court.

Playing time is far down the list.

“I definitely have Division I credentials, but Arizona is a different beast, you know what I mean?” Liam Lloyd said. “Also, you’ve got to bring yourself down to earth sometimes, to be humble. So I’ll do whatever I have to do to help the team win, whatever that takes.”

What that means, ideally for the Wildcats, was on display during a practice that Arizona opened up partially to media on Friday at the RJ. In a drill, Lloyd and other top green-team players ran offense along the perimeter while key players such as Caleb Love and Anthony Dell’Orso tried to close out on them.

Liam’s job was to make them sharper. And, at the same time, they’re doing the same for him.

“One hundred percent,” Liam said. “When you’re around good players, naturally you get better. I think training against them every day has been a blessing.”

If that sounds a little bit like his ever-enthusiastic father, Liam Lloyd also spoke similarly about the other aspects of his new job.

Though he’s a Washington native who grew up in Spokane during Tommy Lloyd’s longtime stint as a Gonzaga assistant, then played at GCU for two seasons before spending the past two at NAU, Liam Lloyd is bubbly about the new home.

“It’s been awesome. It’s been awesome,” he said. “Just building the relationships with the guys and the coaching staff, the managers, it’s been really special. I feel like Tucson is a very special city. The community is awesome. They’ve had open arms, and it’s been awesome.”

UA and Tucson, basically, have extended the support system that drew Liam Lloyd and his fiancée, Halle Jenkins, here last summer.

A former cross-country runner at GCU, Halle met Liam there when the two were freshmen in 2020-21, then moved to Flagstaff after her graduation last December. Then in June, Liam and Halle had a a baby boy, Luka James Lloyd.

They figured out the basketball part, planning a wedding next April 27 to provide a safe three-week buffer after the Final Four. But the parenting part was a little trickier.

Jenkins’ family is based in Camas, Washington, in the Portland metro area and coincidentally less than an hour away from Tommy Lloyd’s hometown of Kelso, Washington. But there was also plenty of support waiting for them in Tucson with new grandparents Tommy and Chanelle.

“My wife and I are really excited,” Tommy Lloyd said last month. “Obviously, having them in town is not something you could ever expect to happen. My wife and I look at each other and think, ‘You know, it seems like yesterday we were in those shoes.’ So to watch them be young parents and be able to be a part of it has been really, really cool.”

Since Luka is still only about 3 ½ months old, Liam said Halle stays with the baby “24/7,” while his online-only classes have also allowed him to help out often.

Then there’s the times when Liam can ask Tommy to pivot from coach to dad to grandpa, sometimes within hours.

“They babysit, yeah,” Liam said of his parents, chuckling. “Sometimes we’ll drop Luka off at the house, and we’ll go get dinner somewhere and have a little date night, which is special. It’s important.”

While Liam has already spent four years in college, not all of his credits transferred from GCU to NAU and even from NAU to UA, so he said he left Flagstaff still shy of graduation.

But that also meant that instead of enrolling at UA as a graduate student, something no longer required for second-time transfers within the NCAA, Liam was able to plan out a lighter load of classes this fall and next spring before graduating.

By the time Liam gets there, the diploma will be from Arizona, a degree in interdisciplinary studies. With a year under his father’s staff, he’ll also have a minor of sorts in coaching.

“When I’m done playing, I’m definitely gonna be interested in coaching, taking that route,” Liam says. “It’s something I’ve enjoyed being around my whole life, so some of that’s natural to me.”

Of course, Liam grew up watching his father work under head coach Mark Few at Gonzaga. But this season, playing under a staff led by Tommy Lloyd has gained him a different perspective already.

“I wouldn’t say anything jumped out to me, but what surprised me is his poise and how well-spoken he is with the guys,” Liam Lloyd said. “He really sends that message to the guys, which is important.

“My dad’s a smart guy, so not a bad guy to learn from.”

For Liam, that’s another benefit of wearing an Arizona jersey this season. No matter what color it is.