As we move further into 2004, the WOW focus turns to a Whittie whose job and organization is poised to take center stage in sports enthusiast circles in March. Tommy Lloyd, '98, is an assistant coach for the Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball team, a perennial Cinderella story at the NCAA March Championship tournament. As of January 30, 2004, the Bulldogs are ranked 10th in the nation against the likes of Duke, Stanford, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Vanderbilt, all college basketball powerhouses.

In the past few years the Bulldogs have had incredible success against much larger schools with more recruiting and program money. Lloyd attributes this success to the staff's concentration on player development, team chemistry, fostering of a family atmosphere, and picking players that fit into the system, team, school and Spokane community. When asked which players he thinks have a shot at going on to the NBA, Tommy picked Blake Stepp, Ronny Turiaf, and Cory Violette, among others. He also says that they have a great group of young players and future recruits that will keep Gonzaga competitive for years to come.

Tommy has always wanted to make a career for himself in basketball. He spent the first semester of his senior year in Australia playing basketball, graduated the next semester, got married, and then played professionally in Germany for a year. He and his wife took a break after that and traveled the world for nine consecutive months before landing in Spokane, Washington, sight unseen. Lloyd then began volunteering with the Bulldogs, hanging around the gym and coaching offices to help out where he could. He says that this is a common path for young people wanting to get into coaching at the college level and was suggested to him by Skip Molitor, Whitman men's basketball coach and Gonzaga alumnus. He credits Coach Molitor for his own ability to stay focused on his goals and put aside 'other things.' After one year of volunteering, Lloyd was hired by Coach Mark Few and has continued to be a student of the game. Tommy says that coaching was a natural progression for him, planning for it while getting his teaching credentials at Whitman.

Right now Lloyd and the rest of the team are concerned with finishing strong this year and taking their program to the next level of success. The Bulldogs have nine more conference games, the West Coast Conference tournament, and then 'the Big Dance.' Presently, the team is 15-2 overall with their losses coming to St. Joseph's (3) and Stanford (2), both unbeaten to this point. While they are consistently outscoring WCC opponents by a large margin, Lloyd knows that their remaining games will not be easy as they are now the "hunted." Other teams are marking their calendars and doing extra preparation to face the Bulldogs.

So what does Tommy Lloyd do in his free time and during the off-season? He says he plays more basketball and watches game film to find new ways to help his team win. He says he is also working on his Master's degree in Organizational Leadership when he can. But his first priority and greatest source of happiness is his family: wife Chanelle and their two-year-old son Liam with another child due at the end of January.

Tommy and family do not get back to campus very often but he says that they are always impressed when they do. If you would like to contact Tommy, you can email him at ThomasCLloyd@comcast.net.