The NCAA Transfer Portal has made an already hectic recruiting landscape even more of a challenge for coaches looking to build a roster. Tommy Lloyd is experiencing that first hand this spring at Arizona. The Wildcats have had several players leave the program since the end of the season while Lloyd has been able to add a couple pieces to the team after taking over for Sean Miller in Tucson.
Still, building a roster when you never know who could become available the next day is certainly an added hurdle for programs. The new rule that will allow first-time transfers to become immediately eligible at their new schools has turned college basketball recruiting into somewhat of a free-agency market.
"The landscape of recruiting has changed over the last four or five years," Lloyd said in a recent interview with Arizona play-by-play announcer Brian Jeffries. "Now, with kids being able to basically play right away without having to sit out, it's really changed the game. So, I'm trying to be really mindful and kind of observe how things are going as opposed to jumping both feet into the transfer portal, and potentially making mistakes.
"I think we have a good foundation here. I like the recruiting pieces we're involved with. We've been mindful and put time into those recruitments, and I think the foundation's set and I'm looking forward to some positive results soon."
Arizona has been publicly involved with a couple American players since Lloyd took over, but both Tyty Washington (Kentucky) and Arthur Kaluma (Creighton) decided to play elsewhere. While both were coming to their final decisions, the Wildcats added other players with international roots.
Utah transfer guard Pelle Larsson and French guard Adama Bal both joined the program in recent weeks with Gonzaga transfer center Oumar Ballo signing with UA recently as well. Lloyd has been a key part of Gonzaga becoming a destination for international players, and he has already started to bring that trend to Arizona.
However, he is not intent on making his new program one that is solely focused on prospects from outside the country.
"It's always where the best players are," Lloyd said about his recruiting philosophy. "The best players that are the best fit for our program at that time. Obviously there's a lot of international players that were in the program when I got the job, which is a good thing. I knew most of those kids and was comfortable with most of them, and most of them were comfortable with me.
"I think this offseason we'll add a few more international players. Kids that were on my radar the past year. Long term I don't think you're looking at more international players than American players on the team. Obviously, the University of Arizona is going to be able to attract great players from all over the world, especially in the US, and I would be interested to see in a few years what the ration looks like. But, I would imagine four or five international players is probably a number I'd be comfortable with."
Though there is certainly a possibility in play that Arizona has a reduction in scholarships at some point stemming from the ongoing NCAA investigation saga, the Wildcats are moving forward with three scholarship spots remaining for the upcoming season.
The NCAA dead period is coming to a close in a couple weeks meaning Lloyd and his coaches will be allowed to hit the road again. In-state big man Dylan Anderson is already committed in the 2022 class, but there is much work to be done still for the upcoming season as well.
"We have to get some things done recruiting-wise," Lloyd said about the next steps for his staff. "That's at the top of the agenda. I think the first thing I wanted to do was stabilize the current roster, and figure out exactly what that's gonna look like. I think we've kind of settled in that area, and now it's recruiting pieces to finish out the roster."
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