Touch Down? Arizona Coach Tommy Lloyd “Announces Trade” in Hilarious Recruiting Tale About Purdue’s Rising Star Daniel Jacobsen

 

 

 

Touch Down? Arizona Coach Tommy Lloyd “Announces Trade” in Hilarious Recruiting Tale About Purdue’s Rising Star Daniel Jacobsen

 

In a moment that blurred the lines between basketball, football, and Monopoly money, Arizona men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd delivered what might be the most hilarious “trade announcement” in college sports history.

 

Fresh off leading the USA Basketball U19 team to a gold medal at the FIBA World Cup, Lloyd addressed media about the team’s success. But it wasn’t just strategy or stats he shared—he dropped a bombshell: he jokingly claimed to have negotiated a “$45.7 million trade” with Purdue for rising star Daniel Jacobsen.

 

“Yeah, we’re working on a blockbuster deal,” Lloyd said with a smirk. “We’re sending two grad assistants, the naming rights to our practice gym, and $45.7 million in imaginary NIL funds to Purdue. In exchange, they send over Daniel Jacobsen. Everybody wins!”

 

Reporters laughed, unsure if Lloyd had crossed into stand-up comedy or simply gone delirious from a long recruiting summer.

 

Jacobsen, the 7-foot-4 center from New Mexico, turned heads with his dominant presence during the U19 tournament. Though he played limited minutes due to a stacked roster, he posted 6.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game, anchoring Team USA’s defense and impressing scouts with his agility and feel for the game.

 

“He’s a monster,” Lloyd said. “I mean that in the most respectful, basketball-loving way possible.”

 

The story got even better when Lloyd recalled his first encounter with Jacobsen at an open gym a couple of years ago.

 

“I saw this gigantic kid playing, and I honestly thought he was from Europe,” Lloyd said. “I asked someone, ‘What country is that guy from?’ and they said, ‘New Mexico.’ I was like—‘Wait a second, that’s a state!’ I felt like I needed to retake geography.”

 

Though Lloyd didn’t recruit Jacobsen at the time, he’s clearly kept tabs on him—and maybe a little regret, too.

 

“You miss on some guys,” he said. “Now I’m trying to trade for him like it’s the NBA Draft. Maybe I should throw in a lifetime supply of Sonoran hot dogs.”

 

Lloyd is no stranger to international recruiting success, having built powerhouse rosters at Gonzaga before taking over the Arizona job. But Jacobsen’s rise—especially under Purdue’s Matt Painter—was one that even Lloyd could only admire from a distance.

 

“Painter’s got himself a future All-American,” Lloyd added. “So unless he’s willing to swap for our team bus, three AI-generated NIL pitches, and some desert real estate, I think that ship has sailed.”

 

Of course, trades don’t exist in college basketball, and no money changed hands—but Lloyd’s joke about “$45.7 million” quickly went viral on social media, with fans playfully speculating what that could buy in Tucson: 9,000 tacos, 1.2 million iced coffees, or a new gym with Jacobsen’s name already on it.

 

In the end, it was classic Tommy Lloyd—self-aware, sharp, and just having fun with the unpredictable world of recruiting.

 

“And hey,” Lloyd laughed, “if New Mexico ever becomes a country, maybe I’ll finally get my guy.”