Boys player of year Loyd gives Gaels winning flair

Quick. Tough. Explosive. Fast.

Those are all words that could describe Bishop Gorman’s Johnathan Loyd. But one fits better than all the others:

Winner.

Loyd helped the Gaels’ boys basketball team to 102 wins during his four years in the program, including a 30-2 record and second consecutive Class 4A state championship this season. For his efforts, Loyd has been named the Class 4A boys basketball player of the year by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“He’s just got that knack and is a special person,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “Pretty much everything he does he’s been successful in.”

That might be true, but Loyd is most impressive with a basketball in his hands. The 5-foot-9-inch senior averaged only 14.1 points, but coordinated everything from his point guard position, averaging 8.2 assists.

“He’s just a leader,” Rice said. “A true, true leader on and off the court, whether it’s leading us on the court with big games or at school, in the hallways, in the classroom. He’s a really good student, and just a great kid all around.”

Loyd also is a freakish athlete. Though never the biggest player on the court, he was always the fastest. At the end of a half, Loyd was able to put on Globetrotter-like dribbling displays as he single-handedly worked time off the clock.

“We’ve had some good guards, but his explosion and overall quickness is probably the best we’ve had,” Rice said. “We’ve had some good athletes, but it’s hard to get quicker than he is.”

Harnessing that quickness was key in taking Loyd from a good high school player to the state player of the year. Rice said Loyd almost outran the ball at times as a freshman and sophomore as he tried to go full speed all the time.

“Midway through his junior year he started to figure out how to use his speed and to change speed and not just go 100 miles per hour all the time,” Rice said. “He learned how to change it up and turn it into a different gear when he needed to.”

As a senior Loyd also turned that speed into success on the football field. Though he hadn’t played football since his freshman year, Loyd joined the Gaels and became an instant force, starting at cornerback and becoming a big-play threat with six returns for touchdowns.

“He got an unbelievable experience from playing football,” Rice said. “He got to play with his friends that he’s grown up with and helped them win a state championship. It helped him in basketball. It made him that much tougher.”

That toughness was key; Loyd never backed down from a bigger opponent.

“He’s always been one of the smaller guys whenever he’s played, but he makes up for that with so much heart,” Rice said. “People look up to him, even though he’s never been the biggest guy. He plays the hardest, he’s got the biggest heart and the biggest work ethic.”