Arizona Hires Gonzaga Assistant As Head Men's Basketball Coach

The Arizona men's basketball program now has a new head coach. The school announced on Wednesday that Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd will replace Sean Miller as the leading man in Tucson.

He is being given a five-year contract.

This isn't overly surprising news, as Lloyd was trending towards Arizona for the past few weeks. It could even be a home run hire for the program. The 46-year-old has been with the Zags since 2000, and during that time, he's made a name for himself.

According to ESPN, Lloyd has established himself as the "best international recruiter in college basketball." When he goes overseas, he can identify talent and bring it back to the States. Except now, he will bring them to the state of Arizona instead of Washington.

"While there are certainly potential obstacles ahead for our program, I embrace the challenge as we will build on the foundation in place to compete for Pac-12 and national championships," Lloyd said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Prior to being named the new coach of the Wildcats, Lloyd was given the "coach-in-waiting" title. Whenever Mark Few retires, Lloyd would then move into his vacated role, but that plan is now in doubt. Few is only 58 years old, though, so a retirement plan won't be in the works for awhile.

Here is what Few had to say about Lloyd:

"In our 20 years working together, Tommy has proven that he is one of the game's elite coaches and highest-character people," Few said, via Arizona's official website. "This is an incredible opportunity for him to lead an incredibly storied program and was a decision I know he carefully considered after receiving head coaching interest from many other schools over the years. Our University and the Spokane community will miss Tommy and his family dearly. I wish him the best and have no doubt he will lead Arizona to great success."

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.