Nigel Lloyd is combining playing and coaching at Milton Keynes but can he deliver the goods on both fronts ? He believes so.
 

Milton Keynes Lions' player-coach Nigel Lloyd is unable to disguise his delight at his side's positive start to the season, the first in charge for the rookie playcaller. That familiar smile speaks volumes.

Since taking over from Tom Hancock in the summer, Lloyd has steered the Lions on an upward course, building on the achievements of last term when the Bletchey side ended their long play-off drought.

“If anyone had told me that we would be battling for second place in the South and 1-0 in the trophy, I would have taken that at the start of the season without playing any games," concedes the Barbadian.

“The guys have gone beyond my expectations and taken it to another level. I thought we would be competitive and we would be able to play with the tough teams in the Championship, but they have shown me such a willing work ethic in games and in practices, which shows that they want to be one of the best teams in the league and it’s happening sooner than I expected. 

"I’m very proud of them as a team. They are the kind of individuals that you want around you.”

The decision to bring in Martin Ford as assistant coach has surely helped in making an initial success of the demanding duel role of player and play-caller. Even at 38, Lloyd has still performed with remarkable consistency this term and could yet make a record-setting ninth All-Star appearance next January.

His scoring average has dropped seven points from his final year with Birmingham but in recent weeks, he has appeared more content to assume more of the offensive load.

“The playing side – trying to fit in how I play with the guys – that has been the hardest demand,” explained Lloyd. “It’s starting to come around, although it is really hard as a coach, because when you have a bad game or you miss a shot or you want the ball, it’s really hard to deal with that, because you don’t want to sound selfish to your team.

“I’ve been pushing my game back a little bit to cater for the team and I have learned that I can’t do that, because I’m still an individual and I’m still a player on this team. The expectations that I have on myself and that the team has on me are still very high.”

Trailing only the Towers in the Southern Conference, Milton Keynes have demonstrated team basketball to date, rising above the more highly touted Birmingham and Thames Valley.

Andrew Alleyne, Lloyd's international team-mate, has settled in quickly, as have other summer signings, and despite the usual lack of depth, the Lions are settled into consistency, a position from which their chief tactician intends to build.

“We just want to do better than we did last year, so that this team is progressing in a forward direction. The team has been getting better and better every year. Now our aim is to do even better, so eventually we will be one of the top teams in England. 

"I think it’s too much to dream that we can do that in just one season, but I think that if we do better than last year and keep building, then we have the potential to be there."

However he cautions that, despite autumn victories, people should judge him, and his side, on their standings next spring.

“We have done well so far, but we can’t rest on this, because really we haven’t accomplished anything yet," Lloyd concludes.

"We have won a few games, some of which we really should have won anyway, because some guys were injured, and there have also been some games that I thought we really should have won and we didn’t. We won’t know how good we are until later on in the season.”