Tommy Lloyd sure sounds like Roy Williams right before he took the UNC job

"It’s deja vu all over again."

The great Yogi Berra iconically made that line famous, and is one that perfectly incorporates the feeling around the current UNC men's basketball head coaching search.

Is history on the verge of repeating itself? Based on the developements, it's starting to feel like it very much could.

Tommy Lloyd refuses to deny his interest in the UNC job

Following his comments after Arizona's Elite Eight victory over Purdue, Tommy Lloyd was asked once again about the speculation about him being the lead candidate for the job at North Carolina.

Once again, Lloyd did himself no favors trying to deny the claim:

"Guys, this team has my full focus. Nothing, nothing, I promise you NOTHING, is knocking me off that path. You might call them 'distractions,' but it's cause you're distracted. That doesn't mean I'm distracted."

Now, this sounds eerily familiar...

Those of us who are old enough (or simply follow UNC basketball history) know that Roy Williams made some similar claims when he was in the same predicament during his run to the national championship game with Kansas.

As we all know so well, Williams departed Kansas after the Jayhawks title game loss to Syracuse, electing to accept the job at North Carolina shortly after.

Where there's smoke, there's fire...

A pair of NBA legends push for UNC to keep it in the family with next hire

Now, Lloyd could be using UNC for leverage to get what he wants from Arizona. He might be perfectly content with where he is, and might just be holding his cards tight to see if he can get an extension from Arizona, a place he has built into a perennial winner.

OR, and let us dream here.. maybe, just maybe, Lloyd knows his heart is leading him to Chapel Hill, thus why he's been hesistant to fully deny the rumors of his departure following the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season.