Back to Back MVP

The Palestine Herald

March 31, 2008 01:24 am

— By SCOTT TYLER
H-P Sports Editor

FAIRFIELD — If Fairfield girls’ basketball coach Tommy Fadal was starting a team, his first pick — Choicetta McMillian.
Fadal may be a little biased since he coached the Fairfield senior guard for the last four years, but it still may be the right pick.
McMillian, who for the second straight year is the Dogwood Circle Girls’ Basketball Most Valuable Player, seemed to be able to do it all in leading the Lady Eagles to the regional finals.
“Choicetta is a great symbol of what hard work and dedication can do,” Fadal said. “She just epitomizes what coaches and teachers strive for.”
In her senior year, McMillian averaged 25.11 points, 4.8 steals and 6.5 rebounds a game. She scored a season-high 41 points twice and was over 30 points on three different occasions, including a 31-point performance in Fairfield’s regional final game.
“This season was unbelievable for us,” McMillian said. “We had more intensity on the floor and we had more fun, laughing more on the floor.”
McMillian’s list of awards and recognition after her senior year are staggering. She was named the MVP in the Eustace and Cameron tournaments; the District 19-3A MVP; the Class 3A-Region III tournament MVP (despite her team not winning the regional final game) and she was named the to Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 3A All-Region and All-State team.
“When Choicetta sets her mind to it, she is going to go and do it,” Fadal said. “She has a fearless competitive spirit.”
In the biggest moments, McMillian seemed to shine the brightest. In the regional quarterfinals against Diboll, the Fairfield senior scored 26 points, including going 18-for-20 from the free-throw line.
“This year it was harder because we always were the underdog,” McMillian said. “We had to fight even harder because of that.”
With a younger team this season, McMillian felt like she had to take on a different role, both as a scorer and as a team leader.
“Being one of the oldest I knew I was the leader and the girls looked up to me,” the Fairfield senior said. “It was fun and I kind of felt like the team mom.”
McMillian will play basketball at the next level as she signed a letter-of-intent to attend and play for Hampton University in Virginia. McMillian said she decided on Hampton because they made the recruiting process easy.
“I went to visit the school, saw the atmosphere and it was a whole nother experience,” McMillian said. “I am very excited and can’t wait.”
Fadal knows the type of player Hampton is about to get.
“In my 30 years of coaching I have only had two or three like Choicetta,” the Fairfield head coach said. “She is a better person than a basketball player, and she is a great basketball player.”