UNC fans might suddenly be feeling like they dodged a bullet with Tommy Lloyd

For a minute there, it did look like Tommy Lloyd was on the verge of taking over at North Carolina. However, the Arizona Wildcats head coach got a sport-altering contract to stay at U of A. He does not have to report to Arizona's athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois. Those two apparently had some friction throughout this season, but it looks to now be water under the bridge in some small capacity...

After devouring the entire news cycle, Lloyd told the media on Friday that he was staying at Arizona.

"I'm happy to announce that I'm staying at Arizona. We've been able to get some things done the past couple of days. I really appreciate President [Suresh] Garimella, John Arnold, and Desireé [Reed-Francois] for showing a real commitment to our program."

He continued by saying Arizona basketball is bigger than him, while also talking about himself, too...

"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. I didn't want to make this entire Final Four about that because I'm just a small part of something much bigger."

Lloyd did finish his statement up by saying "that North Carolina is an amazing place." Whatever, man...

"But on that same note, I'd also like to let you know that North Carolina is an amazing place. It's a one of one. It's an honor to even be considered for that job. The young kid from me, the college basketball junkie, watching those games at home, never would have thought something like that could have happened to somebody like me."

Clearly, Lloyd is staying put because his contract is too monumental to walk away from U of A now.

At this time, North Carolina seems to have avoided a coach with a big ego who could not get it done.

North Carolina fans have to accept Tommy Lloyd was never the right fit

Even though Lloyd is undeniably an ascending head coach in the sport of college basketball, he is a West Coast guy through and through. Not to say that he would not have assimilated to coaching at a blue-blood over in The Triangle, but there most certainly would have been a period of adjustment. Furthermore, he may not have been able to handle the gigantic spotlight put on him with leading UNC.

This may sound painful to some Arizona fans, but nobody outside of West Coast really believed that team was going to win a national title. The Big 12 is a fantastic basketball league, but this team was not going to be tough enough to get past Michigan. UConn is built differently. Had Illinois advanced to the national championship, the Illini would have had a puncher's chance taking on their Big Ten rival.

In the end, North Carolina needs a head coach who can recruit at a high level, is tactically sound in games, and will not put himself ahead of the program. This is what made all-time coaches like Dean Smith and Roy Williams so iconic. North Carolina needs a leader, not an opportunistic. Not to say Lloyd is exactly that when compared to other coaches, but the fit was not as seamless as expected.

For now, North Carolina continues on with its coaching search, hoping to land the perfect candidate.