Bill Self is still the head coach for the Kansas basketball team and will be for as long as he wants to stay on the sideline and he stays healthy. Despite recent struggles, Self's track record is elite, as are his two national championship rings.
North Carolina, a fellow college basketball blueblood, was searching for a new coach, and Arizona's Tommy Lloyd was thought to be a candidate. Last week, Lloyd announced that he is staying in the desert and that he signed a deal with the Wildcats.
When Kansas beat the then-undefeated and top-ranked Arizona Wildcats earlier this season at Allen Fieldhouse, Lloyd was complimentary about the atmosphere, calling it “different,” according to SI.com.
Why should Kansas fans care about Tommy Lloyd's new contract?
As much of an icon as Self is, he cannot coach forever. At some point, KU will need to look for another person to lead the program. Lloyd, who was mentored by Gonzaga's Mark Few before building up a nice program in Arizona. If Self had retired this month, Lloyd would have been on the short list of candidates.
Except for one little detail. Lloyd had a no-compete clause in his contract preventing him from leaving Arizona and taking a job with another Big 12 school for at least one year.
In his new contract with the Wildcats, that clause has been removed, according to 247Sports. It has been replaced with a $1 million buyout instead. While no one apart from the parties involved knows for sure as to why that key clause was changed, it is easy to speculate.
If Self were to retire after next season or the one after, and Lloyd continues to be successful where he is, it is not a big leap to think he would be a candidate for the open KU job. His complimentary remarks about the Phog and the Kansas program in general reflect an obvious admiration for Kansas.
At this point in his career, it's clear that Self doesn't have that many years left as the head coach for the Jayhawks. In the not-so-distant future, KU will be looking for a new coach, and Lloyd could be a candidate.
The changes to the non-compete clause in Lloyd's new contract would seem to indicate that Lloyd might be interested in the KU job. This is purely speculation, but it's easy to connect the dots.
Self is secure in his job at Kansas and isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so this is just some interesting info to store in your minds for the future.
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