Jerry Lloyd left coaching the Phillipsburg High School basketball team to be closer to home and coach at Northwestern Lehigh.

With this season being his first as the Tigers coach, he would have liked to revamp the system and put in his own wrinkles.

Normally, that wouldn’t have been a problem because he would have been able to work with his players during the summer and throughout the fall, but the coronavirus just didn’t allow that to happen.

Complicating matters is the fact that many of his players played soccer or football. With both teams making deep playoff runs, that meant many of his players didn’t join the team until just a couple of weeks ago.

Fortunately for Lloyd, he’s found that he has a roster full of players that he describes as “really smart,” and even in their limited time together, has been able to make many of the changes that he hoped to be able to make.

“We’ve thrown a lot at these kids, and they have picked it up really well,” said Lloyd. “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.”

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 (at 6-5) 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 at all times, 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.”

Thus far, Lloyd is happy with how the team is performing and what they’ve been able to pick up.

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

Regardless, Lloyd is hoping for the best, and is excited to see his players on the court in meaningful games.

“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.”