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Melville makes move to Colgate
By Kevin Hageland, Staff Writer
Nearly a year after graduating from Plano West, Sterling Melville has verbally committed to continue his basketball career at Colgate University.
Melville didn’t spend the last year backpacking around Europe or trying to find himself, but rather at The Hun School of Princeton, a prep school in New Jersey.
“Some people down south don’t really know a lot about prep schools,” Melville said. “But up East a lot of kids do it.”
“I didn’t fail and I’m not dumb,” Melville said with a laugh. “I just wanted a chance to improve my academic and athletic standing, and I think going to prep school really helped in the grand scheme of things.”
Though Melville was far away from home, he was plenty familiar with his East coast surroundings as Melville was born in Pennsylvania and lived in Connecticut for two years. The 6-foot-5 swingman said he has plenty of family in the area, and he is not the first Melville to get an education up East as father Randy was a two-time All-Ivey League first team selection while playing basketball at Princeton.
Not to say there haven’t been any changes for Melville.
“I had gotten used to the warm weather in Texas, so that part has been a bit of an adjustment,” he said. “And of course it’s tough being away because my immediate family doesn’t get to see me play as much.”
That trend will likely continue when Melville heads to Colgate, located in Hamilton, N.Y., but the former Wolf has given those that have seen him play plenty to talk about. Melville was named Most Outstanding Player at the Prime Time Shootout as he scored 18 points in The Hun School’s 76-56 victory over St. Augustine.
But that type of offensive production should come as no surprise to West fans, who watched Melville pile up the points during his three varsity seasons.
“Obviously Sterling was our go-to guy last year,” said Anthony Morgan, West head coach.
Melville averaged a team-high 22.2 points last season (second in the district behind only Plano Senior’s John Roberson) and also posted a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game (fourth best in 9-5A). But even with those gaudy statistics, Melville knew there was at least one area where he could get better.
“I think defensively I made a big improvement,” he said. “I had 10 or 11 charges this season and I think I might have had two or three in my three years with West.”
And even though he was no longer with the Wolves, Melville kept an eye on how the team was doing and was in town over Christmas break when the Wolves lost to the Panthers.
“Yeah, we always seem to have a tough time against East,” said Melville, who’s West teams went 2-5 against East during his three years with the Wolves. “But I think West is going to be really good next year.”
Next year’s West squad won’t be Melville-free either as both junior Tyler and freshman Miles will likely be on the roster next season. And while Morgan is no doubt looking forward to that, he said the eldest Melville’s increased defensive efficiency will allow him to excel at the next level.
“The No. 1 priority I would have had for him would definitely have been defense and I think that is why the year at prep school has done him good,” he said. “It’s always great to have kids from your program go to the next level, especially Division I, and I think Sterling will be a great asset for Colgate.”
And Melville will be stepping into an opportune situation as Colgate was one game away from being a part of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Raiders lost to American, 52-46 in the Patriot League Finals, and the graduation of their No. 3 means Melville will have a chance to compete for a starting job.
“That was definitely a huge factor in my decision,” Melville said. “Nothing was promised to me, and I wouldn’t want it any other way, but I know I will have the opportunity to compete for a lot of playing time.”
Melville selected the Raiders, which first contacted him as a junior, over Lafayette College, Monmouth, New Hampshire and Loyola-Maryland, saying Colgate was the place where he felt he could make the biggest impact on and off the court.
And that’s where the prep school experience comes in.
“Being away from home has helped me manage my time better and I think it will help with my transition to college,” Melville said. “And on the court, I got to go up against some of the top prep teams and players in the country.
“I only get to play basketball for a few more years before I have to get a job, so having an extra year was nice. Plus being a freshman is usually more of a learning curve, so I think this way I will have a better chance of hitting the ground running.”
And though that post-basketball job has yet-to-be-determined, Melville is looking to study business, marketing or management while at Colgate. But whether he is excelling on the court or in the classroom, Melville’s acceptance to Colgate has already made his mother proud.
“I think it’s pretty cool that a West kid has done this well,” Lael Melville said. “And I’m really proud of him.”
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