Tommy Lloyd’s Future in Question as UNC Job Looms During Final Four Run

NDIANAPOLIS — Maybe this is already Tommy Lloyd's last dance at Arizona. Or maybe he's performing a MasterClass in contract negotiation.

Lloyd has nothing to lose with Arizona in the Final Four for the first time in 25 years and North Carolina milling around ready to offer the Wildcats' coach a throne and septer in Chapel Hill. Lloyd's value can only increase by this time Tuesday, when he could be a national champion.

Until then, he's a Final Four coach who might or might not be available. His position? He's not the first, nor the last, coach Arizona will ever have.

“It's absolutely true. There's going to be another coach. This is a great program,” Lloyd said. “I didn’t say when. People are going to speculate all they want, this team has my full focus. Nothing, nothing, I promise you, nothing is knocking me off that path. And, you guys might call them distractions because you're distracted. That doesn't mean I'm distracted or we're distracted.”

Distracted might be overstating it for fans outside of Tucson but the intrigue of the Tar Heels looming with a blank check and Lloyd vs. Dusty May and Michigan on Saturday night in the national semifinals to follow Illinois and UConn.

Perhaps the two best coaches this season and the two best teams bring the juicy subplot of whether North Carolina can be the trophy for one of these relative Johnny Come Lately stories. Lloyd was a longtime assistant at Gonzaga under Mark Few before his chance came at Arizona. With an openness to a windshield wiper approach to roster-building and deep enough pockets to outpay Big 12 mainstays, Lloyd had Arizona in the mix near the top of the national rankings all season.

That part was nothing new for the Wildcats.

Seeing it through has been the hard part.

May isn't a fresh face at the Final Four. He was here with FAU and then hired to fix a Michigan team coming off of an 8-24 season. He has more than 60 wins, two Sweet 16 runs and guides the favorite for the national title into the weekend.

Does he hear the Tar Heels' footsteps?

"I'm incredibly happy at Michigan," May said in an interview with Audacy's Zach Gelb. "We love Ann Arbor. This place has been great to us, it's made us feel like home."

May sounds less likely to leave his current gig and that's in part because Warde Manuel has shown he'll pay up when others hover around his head coaches. Manuel isn't hiding his protectiveness this time around, either.

He openly said of the UNC rumors the desire is for May to "finish his career at Michigan."

More wins are coming for both coaches. Where and when is to be determined.