UNC coaching search continues as Lloyd stays put at Arizona
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- It has been 10 days since the University of North Carolina fired Hubert Davis as head coach of men's basketball.
A national search is ongoing to find the Tar Heels' next leader.
On Friday, one sought-after name was off the table -- Arizona's Tommy Lloyd.
"I'm staying at Arizona," he said at a Friday news conference.
After days of ambiguous statements about his future when being asked about the North Carolina job opening, Lloyd agreed to a new five-year deal with the school.
According to ESPN, the deal with Arizona will pay him nearly $7.2 million. In 2026-27 and will average $7.5 million during the life of the deal.
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That will make him one of the five highest-paid coaches in college basketball.
"Arizona basketball, you guys know what it means to me, and when I say it's a special place, that always comes from the bottom of my heart," Lloyd said.
In a reference to rumored phone calls from Michael Jordan to Lloyd about the North Carolina job -- which Lloyd said never happened -- the 51-year-old expressed his pride in staying in Tucson.
"I made a decision that my Michael Jordan is Steve Kerr, and I'm proud to be an Arizona Wildcat," he said.
Lloyd's deal also includes significant bonuses and additional commitment to the staff salary pool. The buyout is expected to remain significant both ways, as the deal is fully guaranteed, and the buyout to leave for another job, which was $9 million under the old deal, is expected to remain high.
"To me, it's a holistic approach," Lloyd said. "There's not one thing anymore. Arizona basketball needs to become a locomotive where everything surrounding it is pushing it forward."
North Carolina's pursuit of Lloyd had lingered as a storyline during the Final Four, with Lloyd declining to outrightly dismiss the Tar Heels' interest on multiple occasions.
"I'm a simple guy. I'm kind of just one thing at a time. I'm not a multitasker," Lloyd said Thursday at his pregame news conference when he was asked about the vacancy. "You can ask my wife. So, I'm 100% locked in on Arizona basketball right now, and I'm excited to see what this team can do. I have a real strong belief in this team and this team deserves my full attention, so that's what I'm giving."
For North Carolina, the clock is ticking. The transfer portal opens on Tuesday and has only a 15-day window this year.
It's believed the school will shift its efforts toward Michigan's Dusty May or Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan.
May addressed the speculation surrounding the North Carolina vacancy on Friday, saying, "It's well-documented how happy I am at Michigan."
He wouldn't directly comment on the Tar Heels' job opening, pointing to a remark he made last February during Indiana's job search. May, an Indiana grad who was a student manager under Bob Knight, said at the time it was "flattering" that the Hoosiers had interest in him.
"After last year, I decided that I'll never, ever respond to any job speculation," May said Friday. "I made the comment that I was flattered about a certain job opening because of my background. That was misconstrued. And so I just decided that I'm never going to comment on any job that I don't have."
- ABC11's Kate Rogerson and ESPN contributed.
