When Gillian d’Hondt discusses her new gig as coach of Mercer Island’s girls basketball team, she’s not bashful about her lofty expectations for the program going forward.

“My goal for Mercer Island is to make us a powerhouse,” d’Hondt said. “Using all of what I’ve learned as a player and being able to give that back to the girls, that’s my passion.”

With over 20 years of playing experience, d’Hondt will try to pass her knowledge on to an Islander squad looking to make it back to the state tournament next winter. She officially took the helm as varsity head coach June 1, and has already coached the Islanders in a few summer tournaments.

Taking over for the departing Kaela Yuen, d’Hondt previously was an assistant coach with Northwest University and joined the Mercer Island program last year, coaching the seventh grade girls select team.

d’Hondt grew up in the Seattle area, and athletic excellence runs in her family. Her father, Walter, was a Canadian Olympic gold medalist in rowing. She played basketball at Bishop Blanchet High School, with the Braves making the state tournament every year of her high school career. d’Hondt went on to be a four-year starter at the University of the Pacific before playing professionally overseas. She won a national championship in Germany and was a member of the England Women’s National Basketball team in 2006.

The new Islander coach has already begun instituting a few changes with the team, implementing pressure defense and a triangle offense, which she learned playing under University of the Pacific coach Sherri Murrell.

“It allows girls to play basketball and read the defense and play free,” d’Hondt said of the triangle. “I like [the players] to be able to have spacing and to play together.”

A variation of the offense made notable by former NBA head coach Phil Jackson, d’Hondt acknowledged the triangle isn’t a common scheme to see these days among prep teams.

“That’s what’s exciting, it’s hard to scout,” d’Hondt said. “It’s not like you can say, ‘We’re going to switch on this every time.’ The girls are learning how to read the defense… there’s just so many ways we can adjust to the defense.”

d’Hondt admitted her team will need some time and reps with the new offense to get used to their new coach’s style. But she looks forward to passing on the skills she’s picked up over her 20-year career from a sport with which she describes as “a lifelong love affair.”

“What I learned from Sherri Murrell was to really coach everyone differently, motivate them all differently, get to know them and figure out what makes them tick because you can’t discipline or coach everybody the same way,” she said. “I think once they all buy into it and they all find this chemistry and trust each other, they’ll be unstoppable.”

The girls basketball program will host a basketball clinic for 4th-8th grade girls July 21 and 23 at Mercer Island High School. For more, visit migb.org.