When a coach takes over at a new school, he likes to put his own system in place and really make a mark on the team. For Jerry Lloyd, who takes over the Northwestern Lehigh program after five seasons at Phillipsburg High School, the idea was much the same.

Unfortunately, because of restrictions brought about by the pandemic, Lloyd hasn’t had as much of an opportunity to work with his players. Fortunately for him, he’s got a good group of players, who were able to pick up on things very quickly.

“These kids are very respectful, they listen, and they work hard to do what you ask of them and they’re also a very smart bunch of guys,” said Lloyd. “We’ve thrown a lot at these kids and they have picked it up really well. Even the guys who just got here a couple weeks ago are jumping right in there and have picked things up well. We had our first scrimmage the other day and offensively, we were getting really good shots almost every time down the court.”

Lloyd takes over for coach Billy Hallman, who coached at Northwestern for six seasons.

It won’t be easy to replace players like Deven Bollinger, Luke Hallman and Derek Hebelka, who all graduated along with Sean McCann, Vinny Castrine and Joseph Pleban.

Bollinger (6-foot-5) and Hallman (6-2) provided size down low and will be replaced by juniors Ethan Lazarus (6-3) and Justin Holmes (6-2). Holmes suffered a concussion in the District 11 football championship game against Central Catholic and hasn’t been cleared for any contact yet but is getting close.

“He was cleared to run the other day and I got a text from him asking if he could come to practice just to participate in sprints,” said Lloyd. “You don’t see a lot of kids in that position who want to be at practice even though they can only do one thing.”

One change for this season is that players, coaches and referees must wear masks, even when they’re in the game. It’s been a new experience for all of them, but Lloyd again credits the kids with adapting.

“I know there are doctors that say it doesn’t affect breathing, but it’s not easy to play basketball or exercise with a mask on,” Lloyd said. “It’s a credit to the kids though because again, they just know that it’s part of the game and they go out and work as hard as ever and don’t complain.”

Lloyd is happy with how the team is performing and what the players have been able to pick up so far.

As for the season, nobody is quite sure how many games will be played or when because of the recent surge in coronavirus cases.

It’s likely that throughout the season, some teams may need to postpone or cancel some games, leaving athletic directors to scramble to find replacement games, much like what happened during the fall sports season, particularly in football.

Lloyd plans on leaving the concerns about the schedule and opponents to athletic director Jason Zimmerman and is focusing just on getting his players ready for the upcoming season no matter how many games or what teams are on the schedule.

The bottom line is that he’s ready to get his players into meaningful games as soon as possible.

“It’s been a lot of fun to work with these guys and they’re respectful of me and the other coaches and I have a lot of respect for them and how hard they’ve worked,” said Lloyd. “From what I’ve seen so far, I like our chances and I think we’re all ready to play.”