By Linley Grosman '28

Before Men's Basketball head coach Alex Lloyd signed his emails as 'Coach Lloyd', he too was a Division III basketball player. Growing up in Burlington, Vermont, Lloyd got into the game at an early age.

"My first memory is probably watching my dad play in Men's Leagues when I was in first or second grade. As a participant, I remember fourth-grade rec basketball. I wasn't great, very gangly, and I spent a lot of time on the bench. After that year, I got a little more coordinated and really started practicing a lot on my own. The next year, I played a lot and won our rec and CYO championships."

Lloyd continued training and progressing, eventually deciding he wanted to play collegiately. His recruitment sent him west to attend Pomona College, where Lloyd was a significant role player for the Sagehens.

"My experience as a student-athlete at Pomona, from teammates and coaches to professors was really impactful. We still talk and get together almost 20 years later. Those relationships are incredible, and the experience really instilled a desire in me to coach at the D3 level to provide others with a similar experience."

At Pomona, Lloyd enjoyed a lot of success on the court despite numerous injuries that sidelined him. His first two years, they came second in their conference while Lloyd was first-team all-conference. In 2005, the Sagehens won the SCIAC championship while Lloyd was the conference's player of the year. When reflecting on his four years at Pomona, Lloyd acknowledged the highs and lows, from titles to injuries.

"It was incredible. Hard, injury-filled, fun. I spoke about the relationships that were a huge part of that journey. As a player, my role really evolved while I was at Pomona. I had to learn how to go from being one of the best players to a good role player."

After graduating, Lloyd spent a year with the San Antonio Spurs organization before getting his master's degree in education from Smith College. He spent one more year with the Spurs before moving to Atlanta to work with the Hawks. Back in Texas, Lloyd was the Director of Scouting and Player Development for Texas A&M University from 2014-2018 before returning to the NBA G-League as a Lead Assistant for the Memphis Hustle where the team won the Summer League Championship.

"My time in the G-League was great. I say all the time the G-League is the closest to DIII athletics of any place in sports. From sweeping floors to doing laundry, you're in it. Everyone in the G-League is trying to get from Point A to Point B in their life or career."

In the spring of 2021, Lloyd was named the eighth head coach for the Bowdoin Men's Basketball program. In his first year at Bowdoin, he led the team to 12 wins and a first-round NESCAC tournament win, the first in seven years for the Polar Bears. His favorite memory from the last few seasons centers around one of his players, showing how much Lloyd values relationships.

"There are a lot - beating Hamilton and Amherst to close out the conference on the road is up there, but I know the best is yet to come competitively. Moving away from wins and losses, Taiga [Katigomi '22] was on the team my first year here, and he's now playing professionally in Japan. Last summer, he came back after his season, and we got lunch. I got to hear about what he's doing, how he's applying the things he did here at Bowdoin to his professional journey and talk with him about our guys and how our team is doing."

Basketball has always been a big part of Lloyd's life, from childhood to profession. Even after working with NBA organizations, Lloyd has always found his way back to DIII basketball and hopefully will be a part of the Bowdoin community for many years to come.  

"Athletics has always been an incredible tool to produce life skills, for relationships, work, parenting, you name it… The process of trying to solve what is in front of you to get a win or a desired outcome has always been a part of me. The growth part to me is learning and teaching - there's so much that is happening around us on the court, in the world, that is informative or allows us to grow. On a team, I think we're constantly growing and learning competitively, and then those relationships allow us to help us grow and learn together away from the court in a meaningful way."