After winning 494 games—more than all other coaches in Bowdoin men’s basketball history combined—former men’s basketball Head Coach Tim Gilbride retired at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year after a 35 year career. To fill the void left by Gilbride, Alex Lloyd became the eighth head coach in the team’s history.

Lloyd boasts an extensive coaching background, having worked in various roles at the college, minor league (G-League) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Most recently, Lloyd worked as the lead assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies’ G-League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle. He feels that his diverse set of previous roles has prepared him well to join the Polar Bears.

“I’ve been fortunate to work with great coaches. I’ve always felt that coaching is teaching. While each stop has been different, the common thread is that I was challenged to grow, cared for, and empowered to try new things,” Lloyd wrote in an email to the Orient. “It’s helped [me] see that coaching is relational and that you can trust and empower people while also holding them to a high standard … I guess the last piece is that I’m more comfortable now not having all the answers.”

Men’s basketball Captain Morgan Edwards ’22, who assisted in the process of selecting a new coach, was impressed by Lloyd’s background.

“I think that [his experience at the professional level] is unique,” Edwards said. “A lot of the coaches in the college game, at the Division III level in particular, don’t come from a player development background specifically. And he’s done not just player development, but player development at a high level.”

Assistant Coach Felix Abongo echoed Edwards’ thoughts, explaining that the most notable difference between Gilbride and Lloyd will likely be shown on the basketball court.

“I think play style will be the one thing that’s really going to change [with Lloyd]. Our personnel has changed a little bit this year as a team,” Abongo said. “For us, I think that’s going to be great because we’ll have some guys that can play multiple positions, so we’ll try to use our versatility that way and take advantage of some matchups.”

Practices don’t begin until October 15, but the team has already begun to spend time together both on and off the court.

“We’ve been doing some different things, from beach days to having cornhole tournaments and also little things like Spikeball, going to other athletic events together as a team and just partnering with different groups on campus. So the outreach is going to be something that we emphasize this year as a program,” Abongo said.

Coach Lloyd said he is both excited and honored to be taking over from Coach Gilbride.

“I’m really grateful to be following someone who built such great camaraderie with the current group and with alumni. Also, he hired Coach Abongo, who’s phenomenal,” Lloyd said. “I’m grateful to be taking over such a great job.”

Caroline Flaharty