Tommy Lloyd’s recruiting chops have become nationally known. It's never been more clear than this season when six former Arizona players combined to score 82 points per game.
I strongly believe that if those six UA transfers played together on one team, they would have reached the NCAA Tournament. In effect, Lloyd had two teams of NCAA Tournament quality in one season. Who else can do that? Here's the lineup:
Guard | KJ Lewis, Georgetown | 14.4 points per game
Guard | Kylan Boswell, Illinois | 12.3 points per game
North Carolina center Henri Veesaar shoots as Virginia Tech forward Amani Hansberry defends during the first half Feb. 28, 2026, in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Center | Henri Veesaar, North Carolina | 17.0 points per game
Forward | Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's | 18.4 points per game
Forward | Filip Borovicanin, Xavier | 10.8 points per game
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Sub | Conrad Martinez, High Point | 8.1 points per game
Those six guys on one team would've been better than the Big 12 teams deployed by ASU, Utah, Colorado and five or six others.
Lloyd recruited those six beginning in the 2021-22 season. What's more head-turning is that you have to go back 50 years to assemble five UA transfers who, combined, averaged more than 82 per game.
– 1984, Leon Wood, transferred to Cal-Fullerton. Averaged 24 points as a senior.
– 2003, Ruben Douglas, transferred to New Mexico. Averaged a nation-high 28 points as a senior.
– 2022, Alex Barcello, transferred to BYU. Averaged 16.8 as a senior.
– 2005, Will Bynum, transferred to Georgia Tech. Averaged 12.5 as a senior.
– 2022, James Akinjo, transferred to Baylor. Averaged 13.5 as a senior.
Worried about Lloyd losing too much talent in the draft? Don't. He's proven he can move to Plan B with little or no deficit.
Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at GHansenAZStar@gmail.com. On X(Twitter): @ghansen711
Greg Hansen
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