Lady Rams Sign Point Guard

By: Mike Dowty
Livingston Parish News

WALKER - Diminutive point guard Morgan Melancon will take her game to the next level as the Walker High School star signed a letter of intent Monday with the University of Mobile.

Basketball coach Michael Berry said he is hoping to land two of Melancon's AAU teammates as well as the school has offers out to Denham Springs twins Brittany and Blair Stevens, who have not yet announced a decision.

"They like the fundamentals down here and they like the way I push the ball," said Melancon, who averaged 12 points per game in her senior year even though she was encouraged to shoot less and distribute the ball more by her new coach, John McMillan. She also had seven assists per contest.

Melancon led the Lady Wildcats to a Livingston Parish championship and third place finish in District 5-5A. They bowed out of the playoffs in a second round loss to defending state champion Southwood.

Melancon called the team's upset of Denham Springs for the parish title the high point of her career and the final loss the low point. Walker also shocked Denham on its home court in the first of two district battles.

Already selected for the high school All Star Game March 15 in Houma and the parish playmaker of the year last season, Melancon will turn her attention now to track and field, where she throws the javelin.
"Every college coach is looking for good students and good athletes," Berry said of the future business major, who will graduate from Walker with a 3.6 GPA. "Sometimes you get one and not the other. Sometimes you're lucky enough to get both."

Berry said he was skeptical that the 5-1 guard could compete at the collegiate level, but the more he watched her the more impressed he became by her athleticism and fundamentally sound play.
"She may be small, but her heart is very big," Berry said. "That's what I liked about her."

Melancon was equally impressed with the beautiful campus at the NAIA university of 1,300 students, about the same size as her high school. It is close to home, but not next to home, giving her an opportunity to experience something new, but to play near friends and family.

The Rams play in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference with Dillard, Xavier, SUNO and Loyola in New Orleans as well as LSU-Shreveport, Belhaven, Spring Hill, Tougaloo and William Carey.

Melancon was congratulated during a signing ceremony at the school library by family, teammates, faculty and current and former coaches, among them Shawn Brown, who coached the Lady Wildcats during her first three seasons and Ken Fohne and Norman Engler, her AAU coaches.

McMillan said Melancon and her teammates made his first year a dream season.

"She and all the seniors did a great job of helping make the transition smoother," said the former St. Thomas Aquinas coach. "I really believe she is going to be successful. She's not afraid to work hard and loves the game of basketball”.