Know Your Team: Johnathan Loyd and Nathaniel Wright
- Mar 3, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 16, 2021
Two members of the Island Storm's 2019-20 squad both made their ways to the NBL Canada on more unconventional paths than much of their contemporaries did.
Johnathan Loyd
5'8
Guard
From Las Vegas, Nevada
As a senior at Bishop Gorman High School, Loyd was named the 2010 Class 4A Player of the Year and led his team to a state championship over Canyon Springs. He moved on to the Oregon Ducks in the NCAA, part of their programs in both basketball and gridiron football, where he played as a wide receiver and won the 2015 Rose Bowl.
On the basketball court, he would go on to win the most games in the Ducks' history, with 97 victories over four seasons. He also played in two NCAA Division 1 tournaments, the first in 2013 saw Oregon reach the third round of the competition.
Loyd began his professional basketball career with Wohnbau in Germany, starting in 16 out of 25 games in 2015-16 Bundesliga A season. He next played for the Nevada Desert Dogs in The Basketball League, after which he made his first NBLC appearance in the latter part of the 2018-19 season.
Joining for the Island Storm, he averaged 11.7 points, 4.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 12 games. Numbers that would see him retain his spot on the team the following season. The Storm missed out on a playoff spot that season but Loyd's numbers were enough to warrant a second season in Summerside.
Starting every game in the 2019-20 season he became one of the team's top scorers, averaging 18.1 points as well as 6.9 assists per game. He scored a season-high 41 points against the Sudbury Five on January 19th which came days after notching a triple-double in London against the Lightning. A sensational string of performances brought to a halt by a shortened NBLC season.
Nathaniel Wright
6'7
Forward
From St. Louis, Missouri
Wright's journey began at Murrieta Mesa High School in California, where he played both basketball and baseball, setting team records in both. He was offered a scholarship to Utah State, but declined, instead focusing on his business degree, which he earned from the University of Antelope Valley.
After time in the Drew League, Wright would play two seasons for the San Diego Kings in the ABA and more notably joining the Harlem Globetrotters, playing under the name 'Bounce'.
He signed his first professional contract with the Storm in 2019, scoring 21 points in his first two regular season games for the team and finishing in double digits in next seven. His chance to shine on the competitive stage has been a long time coming, and now he has it Wright is making the very most of it and giving back to the Storm in return for that chance.
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