Prospect Spotlight: Ramel Lloyd Jr 2022

<p>Ramel 'Rock' Lloyd was a star at Cardinal Hayes High School in New York, went on to play at Syracuse and Long Beach State, and had a lengthy professional career overseas. Now, Ramel Lloyd Jr. is looking to follow in his father's footsteps.</p> <p>An all-around player with a versatile skillset, Lloyd is entering his sophomore year having recently transferred to Taft after spending his freshman year at Calabasas. He's been a highly-touted prospect since he was in middle school, and he received his first Division 1 offer from UNLV when he was in 7th grade.</p> <p>Since then, he's picked up offers from Dayton, DePaul, Fresno State, Manhattan, and TCU. As he continues his progress and his high school career, it's pretty safe to say that more offers will be rolling in.</p> <p>While he's got plenty of time to sort through them and identify a situation that best suits him, he knows what he'll be looking for when that time comes.</p> <p>"I definitely want to go to a big conference," Lloyd told Prep Hoops. "I want to be able to come in right away and have a big impact on the team."</p> <p>For now, Lloyd is sure to have a big impact this season with the Toreadors. He is essentially a big guard, with the ability to play multiple positions. On the defensive end, some possessions you might seem him covering a wing on the perimeter. Other possessions, he might be bodying up a big in the post.</p> <p>On the offensive end, there's little he can't do. He runs the offense smoothly and has great court vision, capable of picking apart a defense with his passing. Scoring-wise, he is a blur in transition, and he gets to the rim with ease.</p> <p>Although he is well-rounded offensively, there is one particular aspect that he's spent the summer working on improving.</p> <p>"I've been working on my shooting, getting more shots up," Lloyd said. "I've been in the gym constantly with my dad working on that, trying to get more consistent with it. Everything else too, just keep continuing to get better."</p> <p>Over the summer, Lloyd continued to get better by playing with some of the top AAU programs in the area. He initially began playing with the famed Compton Magic, but eventually ended the summer playing with former NBA star Paul Pierce's Truth organization.</p> <p>It was during the AAU circuit that a few more of the college offers started coming in. Lloyd knows that summertime is a big time for college offers, but he really wanted to use his time with the Truth to get better.</p> <p>"Of course it always comes with offers and stuff like that, but I just wanted to get better and prepare for the season," Lloyd said. "Play with some good guys and have some fun."</p> <p>Lloyd's freshman year started off a little bit slow as he began the last season dealing with an ankle injury that kept him out of the lineup for about half the year. When he finally got on the court, he made an immediate impact.</p> <p>This season, he decided to jump down the 101 Freeway a bit from Calabasas to Taft. One big factor in his decision was the chance to play for a highly regarded coach in Derrick Taylor, someone whom he was already familiar with.</p> <p>"Coach Derrick Taylor, when he was at Bosco, we had a close relationship when I was in middle school," Lloyd said. "He's always been a guy I could go to and talk to, so it felt like a good fit for me to go to Taft."</p> <p>This season, Taft should have a very talented team capable of making some noise in the CIF City Section. In addition to Lloyd, the Toreadors added key transfers in former Dorsey players Jason Hart Jr. and Duke Gipson. They'll add to the returning core of Khalil Haywood, Demetrius Calip II, and Myles Lofton.</p> <p>In Taft's home opener, a 72-70 win over Washington Prep on Wednesday night, Lloyd led the Toreadors with 29 points and ran the offense very well. He's looking forward to beginning this season and seeing how well the team can do.</p> <p>"They have a lot of seniors this year. I feel like I can come in and we can be a really good team and make Open Division," Lloyd said. "I feel like with their experience, we have a lot of shooters who can all play together. I feel like it could be a good season."</p>