Past, present Blue Jay basketball players wish Jacoby Lloyd well

Jun. 16—JAMESTOWN — Jacoby Lloyd loves basketball and he is good at coaching.

That combo has made for a good six years at Jerry Meyer Arena.

"My favorite memory with him took place in the summer going into my senior year," JHS Class of 2022 graduate Adam Kallenbach said. "He showed up to open gym with his basketball shoes and goes: 'I'm on whatever team Adam isn't.' He spent the whole open gym full-court pressing and talking trash. Some would say he got the best of me, but it was just a fun time.

"I've had a lot of great coaches," he said. "Coach Lloyd easily makes an appearance on my Mount Rushmore of coaches I have had."

The end of the 2022-23 school year signaled the end of three Jamestown High School coaches' careers as Blue Jay coaches. Lloyd, JHS girls golf coach Tracy Iliff and JHS boys wrestling coach Larry Eslick will not return to JHS next year.

As of June 14, the Jamestown High School board is still looking to fill Lloyd and Iliff's positions. Former assistant wrestling coach Pat Schlosser has filled the head wrestling coach position.

Lloyd's resignation was formally approved by the Jamestown Public School Board on May 15.

Lloyd's first year as the head coach at JHS was in 2017-18 when Ryder Lunzman was a junior and his younger brother, Mason, was in seventh grade.

"My first impression of coach Lloyd was he was here to win basketball games," Ryder said. "I knew that he was going to play the kids that worked the hardest and were going to put us in a position to win games. I loved every aspect of the competitive attitude he brought to the gym. His drive to want the best out of us and our team made me more eager to put in the extra work to help the betterment of the team."

Prior to Lloyd's arrival at JHS, the basketball program had fallen on some hard times, appearing at the Class A State Tournament just twice since Y2K (2001, 2015). The Jays were 2-19 in 2016-17.

"Coach Lloyd has an amazing way to look at the game differently than most people," Ryder Lunzman said. "The biggest thing he brought to the gym is an outside mind. The last few coaches have all been from Jamestown and ran the program similarly. Coach Lloyd was not from Jamestown and brought a different playing style with him."

Lloyd was a product of Bismarck's basketball programs. A graduate of Bismarck High, he went on to play for the University of Mary and then accepted an assistant coaching position at Bismarck Century under longtime head coach Darin Mattern. Lloyd was an assistant coach at Century for eight seasons.

The change to the coaching dynamic may have ruffled some fans' feathers but you gotta give it to the guy — he knew how to win.

"My first varsity coach during my freshman year was coach (Luke) Anderson," said Boden Skunberg, JHS Class of 2020 graduate and current North Dakota State University men's basketball team member. "He was a really big and tall dude who demanded respect and everyone loved him. Thankfully he gave me a lot of playing opportunities my freshman year so I am thankful for everything he's done for me. I was very sad to see him go but thankfully we got a great guy in coach Lloyd."

Skunberg, Adam Kallenbach's older brother, Jared Kallenbach, and Ryder Lunzman were all on the 2019 undefeated state championship team. The Blue Jays defeated Fargo Davies 66-49 in the 2019 title game.

"The morning of the state championship we just got done with our shoot around that morning and he brought us all into a tight huddle and he told us that no matter what happened that he was proud of what we accomplished and that he was incredibly thankful to be able to be our coach that night," Ryder Lunzman said. "From that morning to the end of the final buzzer, we all knew Coach had our backs and that he was going to give us his all."

The 2019 title marked the program's seventh state title. During his six years as the head coach for the Blue Jays, Lloyd finished with a 101-51 record.

"Coach Lloyd really helped bring us together and create a good, competitive culture," Skunberg said. "I feel like his record speaks for itself. He was a part of the undefeated team that helped change how Jamestown athletics was viewed and we should be forever grateful for that. I would just like to say thanks for always having my back and for being there for me during an influential time in my life."

So, what really contributed to Lloyd being a "winning coach?"

"Coach Lloyd loves to win and loves the game of basketball," Adam Kallenbach said. "One of his best qualities as a coach is putting people in situations to be successful and he has done that for every team he has coached. On any given game he is going to put the team in situations to be successful."

"We were 2-19 my sophomore year and had been to state once in like 15 years," Jared Kallenbach said. "I think there was more talent in the gym when he was around but I also think he helped get people excited about basketball in Jamestown again and continue to make it a dynasty."

Building a "dynasty" starts with tending and growing the individual pieces and that's exactly what Lloyd did.

"Coaches are supposed to bring the best out of each player and Lloyd did exactly that," Ryder Lunzman said. "I remember one time very clearly, I was in the gym after practice for roughly a half hour or so to get some extra shots because I was in a bit of a slump. Coach Lloyd came over and started rebounding for me. No one asked him, no one told, and his job didn't require it, yet he was there helping me out when he knew I was frustrated."

In the four years since the Jays' took home the championship hardware, Lloyd helped to produce four other solid teams.

"Coach Lloyd, for all four years that I was playing, was a great coach," Mason Lunzman said. "He knows a lot about the sport and he connects with the players very well. He is a lot of fun to be around. He pushed us every day at practice to go as hard as we could and to compete against each other to make each other better.

"He has done so much for me and all of the players," he said. "He helps everyone individually to make their weaknesses strengths. That means you have to take some criticism which is not a bad thing. His ability to form a team and teach each player what their roles are are outstanding. The difference between our team this year from the beginning to the end was incredible."

Mason Lunzman was one of three seniors on the 2022-23 JHS basketball team who bought into what Lloyd was teaching. As a result, the Jays, a team picked to finish fifth in the WDA at the beginning of the year, made it back to the Class A State Tournament.

In his six years spent in Jamestown, Lloyd and the Jays have appeared at the state tourney four times.

"My first impression of Coach was that he was very energetic and cared about the program," JHS sophomore Thomas Newman said. "He brought his own ideas with him to Jamestown and helped the program grow through hard work and dedication. With how much he spent on scouting other teams it helped us prepare for each team which means we have a better chance of winning that game. Coach has done many things for this program and I won't forget him after the blast I had in my first varsity basketball season."

One of the things Lloyd has done is make sure the kids in Jamestown have a good foundation to build their skills upon.

"What flies under the radar is the work coach Lloyd did with the youth," Jared Kallenbach said. "Talent is developed in the youth and he really was invested in that."

His brother agreed.

"I credit him for his hard work on helping flip the program around," Adam Kallenbach said. "He took kids to summer team camps, opened up the gym any time you asked and developed the youth through camps. Overall, he just provided as many opportunities as he could for kids to improve and get in the gym."

"He has helped me so much to become a better player and even better person," Mason Lunzman said. "He doesn't only care about how I do in basketball but also for my future and many of my teammates would say the same. I am thankful for everything he has taught me and everything he has done for me not only in basketball but also in life. I will never forget anything he has done."

"Most people only get to see coach Lloyd on the court, but they do not see what he does for us," Skunberg said. "Nearly every weekend he'd host meals at his house for the whole team and we'd stay for hours watching games and movies. For me personally, he'd stay after practice while I shot around and wouldn't leave until I got done. He only wanted the best in all of us and I am grateful to have had him as a coach."

"Thank you for being a great coach and mentor," Adam Kallenbach said. "The hard work put into the program means a lot to all of us who played for you."

"Coach Lloyd and I still have a very good relationship and I will forever have his back in everything," Jared Kallenbach said. "He led Jamestown back into power. If people say that it was just a perfect time for him to come back that is true. But for him to come in and control and facilitate all the talent we had in the gym and turn Jamestown back into a powerhouse — that's pretty special."

"The only thing I would like for him to know is, he changed my life and my family's lives," Ryder Lunzman said. "He has had such a huge impact on my life that, I genuinely believe that a lot of the accomplishments I have made post-high school stem from the things he has taught me and shown through the game of basketball. I hope the best for coach Lloyd and his family in their future endeavors. They deserve nothing but the best the world has to offer."