Aging Like A Fine Wine At 31, Lloyd Gives Abl Team A Mature Presence In The Middle

Andrea Lloyd has been around the world, capturing an NCAA championship, winning an Olympic gold medal and playing for good money in Italy, but she’s having a tough time playing the role of spoiled American professional basketball player.

The 1983 Moscow High graduate is the starting center for the Columbus Quest in the fledgling American Basketball League, but she can’t tell you how many points or rebounds she is averaging.

“Not a clue,” she said in a telephone interview from Columbus, Ohio.

Just to play the role, she made up 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds, but she had to laugh. “It’s not a big thing.”

What is a big thing is the ABL has gotten off to a good start, the Quest has gotten off to a great start and Lloyd is coming home.

Next Tuesday, between a Sunday game in Portland against the Power and a Thursday game in Seattle against the Reign, Lloyd is leading the Quest to Moscow for a clinic from 5-7 p.m., followed by an exhibition game against area players, male and female.

“All the players and coaches from our team should be there,” Lloyd said.

For $10, campers will learn fundamentals, get to meet the players and “learn the secrets of our trade.”

However, considering the Quest’s 7-0 start, Lloyd said she’s not sure she wants to divulge those secrets.

Success has never been a secret to Lloyd, from her days as three-time Idaho prep player of the year, to All-American at Texas, to gold-medal winner in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

“There are no secrets, it’s called hard work, defense and team work,” she said. “We’re very well coached and we have some people really willing to sacrifice a lot. Defensively, we’re very sound. We’re probably one of best in teams in the league defensively.”

The coach is Brian Agler, who joined the league from Kansas State.

“We have the right mix as far as the team goes; we have young people, older people, people that can score, people that are willing to play roles, just a little bit of everything,” Lloyd said. “We just have the right chemistry.”

And her role?

“Old person.”

“I was feeling better last week and this cold spell came up,” she said. “You know how with old people the cold spells hurt them.”

Yeah, she’s a fossil - 31.

But there is a sense of old age to her game, considering she is still not 100 percent because of a knee injury that kept her from trying out for the last Olympics. Still, she has averaged close to 30 minutes a game.

“OK, I’m not very old, but I feel pretty old. Everybody makes fun of me because I’m so slow and old,” she said. “It’s sad looking at tapes, I think, ‘Is that slow motion or is that me?’ I haven’t got my quickness back, don’t have my legs back. It will take another couple months until I feel good.”

Considering a majority of the 1996 gold medal team is in the league, the Quest is on the short end of bigname players.

“That’s one of the secrets to our success,” Lloyd said. “We’ve very balanced. It’s really nice to be in the game and even if you don’t play well, these people come off the bench and get the job done.”

But despite the best record in the league, the Quest is still seeking more support.

“It’s going well, but we’ve had a lot of home games and our attendance has been low,” she said. “People here are pretty nuts over Ohio State football and you know how they’re doing. And it’s very difficult to get support from the papers around here, but they’re coming around.”

Lloyd is willing to do whatever she can, on and off the court, to make sure the ABL has a future because Columbus is close enough to home after nine years in Italy.

“I contribute what I can contribute. … We can hide our weakness and exploit our strengths.”

And truthfully, she’ll share those secrets with anyone.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: HELPING HAND Andrea Lloyd and the Columbus Quest will conduct a clinic next Tuesday in Moscow from 5-7 p.m. It will be followed by an exhibition game against area players. Cost is $10.