Arizona basketball HC Tommy Lloyd fires back at Bobby Hurley saying players have 'no class'
Yesterday at 10:58 AM
Safe to say, the Arizona basketball and Arizona State basketball rivalry is still strong. After ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said some of the Wildcats players had ‘no class’ following their loss, head coach Tommy Lloyd wasn’t having any of it. He gave a straightforward response to Hurley’s criticisms.
"If you have something to say about someone direct it towards me because those are my players, but don't speak on them,” Lloyd said via Mike Luke of PHNX Wildcats.
However, most of the tension sparked from an incident that happened before the game.
As the clock ticked down, Hurley instructed his team to go to the locker room and not shake hands with the Arizona basketball team. Roughly 30 seconds earlier, there was a heated exchange between Sun Devils guard BJ Freeman and Wildcats guard Caleb Love. Freeman headbutted Love, and the latter retaliated.
The officials threw both players out of the game. By that time, it didn’t matter, as Arizona basketball secured the rivalry victory. Either way, it was an embarrassing look for Hurley, after playing a tight game against a tough opponent.
Tommy Lloyd didn’t like Bobby Hurley’s comments about Arizona basketball
From an outsider’s perspective, Hurley’s comments felt that he was sour about the loss. Although Love was talking a great deal to the Sun Devil bench, calling them ‘classless’ seems a bit much. After all, he was a standout guard with North Carolina basketball before transferring to Arizona.
Either way, this is a rivalry game. Tensions are high between both teams, coaches, and the respective universities. Still, calling a collegiate player classless during a rivalry game seems over the top. After all, Freeman headbutted Love, which was uncalled for. The back-and-forth contest didn’t make matters any easier for the two schools.
However, Arizona basketball has been favored in this lopsided matchup for the past four seasons. The only victory that Hurley and his team had, was because of a Desmond Cambridge Jr. half-court buzzer-beater in the McKale Center. Other than that, it’s been all Lloyd and Arizona basketball.
At the end of the day, the chatter between the two won’t stop, as they’re set to face off again in March. This time, it’s on the Wildcats home floor. Tensions will be high, but Lloyd has the upper hand in front of one of the best crowds and fanbases in college basketball.
For Hurley, he might retract those comments, or stand on business with those, if another incident transpires like it did on Saturday.
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