Arizona picks Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd over former player Damon Stoudamire

For now, Damon Stoudamire will stay as University of the Pacific men's basketball coach. 

Stoudamire, considered a rising coach in college hoops, has had his name linked to numerous open head coaching vacancies since the end of Pacific's season. Most recently, the fifth-year Pacific head coach was considered one of the favorites to land the head coach position at the University of Arizona, which fired Sean Miller after 12 seasons. 

However, Arizona decided to go another direction, picking Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd as Miller's replacement. 

Stoudamire, 47, was considered one of the top candidates due to his connection with the school. The former NBA guard played his collegiate career at Arizona from 1991-95, before being drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 draft. 

Since the end of his 13-year NBA career in 2008, Stoudamire has held coaching jobs with Rice University, the Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis University and two years as an assistant at Arizona from 2013-15, before taking the Pacific job. Since taking over in Stockton, Stoudamire had seen an increase in win total in three of his first four seasons, including a 23-10 record in 2019, and was named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year. 

Last season, Pacific finished just 9-9, with its schedule hit hard by numerous COVID-19 quarantines. Before this season, Stoudamire also signed a contract extension to keep him in Stockton through the 2025-26 season. 

Stoudamire declined to comment on the opening at his alma mater during the coaching search. Through the offseason, Stoudamire's name was also linked to the head coach opening at DePaul (Chicago), which was filled by Tony Stubblefield. 

Lloyd has spent his entire coaching career on Mark Few's staff at Gonzaga and has no head coaching experience. 

Some former Arizona players have already spoken out against the hire. According to The Arizona Republic, former NBA All-Star and Arizona player Gilbert Arenas said Lloyd didn't have "the credentials" to be Arizona's head coach and instead vouched for Stoudamire. 

"He's been coaching for a while now, he's established himself, he's turned a whole program around," Arenas said of Stoudamire, according to the Arizona Republic.

Record reporter Justin Frommer covers prep and college sports. He can be reached at or jfrommer@recordnet.com or on Twitter @JustinbFrommer. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow