Chad Brown couldn’t help but smile prior to the start of the season.
The New Hope High School girls basketball coach liked his team’s chances for the 2016-17 season, but he felt even better about them after a conversation with senior Lanoria Abrams.
“She said, ‘I really want to play basketball at the next level,’ ” Brown said. “She put in the work.”
Abrams’ play was an integral part of New Hope’s runner-up finish in Class 5A, Region 2 and appearance in the first round of the playoffs. An 18-point, 14-rebound effort against Oxford in the first round of the region tournament helped pave the way for Abrams to add a trip to the postseason in her senior season.
Abrams added another accomplishment to her senior swan song Wednesday when she signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville.
Brown admitted he wasn’t sure if Abrams would decide to play basketball or softball in college. He said Abrams is one of the best athletes in the school, so he felt she had an opportunity to pick her path depending on which sport she like the most.
Abrams, who plays slow- and fast-pitch softball at New Hope High, said she felt strongest about basketball because she believes she had a lot of room to improve.
“It has been even (when asked about her love for basketball and softball),” Abrams said. “As this year has been going, I felt like basketball is my sport. I feel that is what I can do better and what I am capable of carrying my team with.”
Brown agrees. He said Abrams averaged 14 points and eight to nine rebounds a game. Brown said Abrams played a variety of positions and was a player he could count on to do whatever the team needed, whether it was bringing the basketball up, posting up opponents, or taking them off the dribble.
More importantly, Brown said Abrams was willing to take the time and to work as hard as she needed to realize her goal to play basketball in college.
“Whenever somebody comes up to you sand says I want to continue playing, it is an honor to me because it says they want you to help them get to the next level,” Brown said. “I did everything I could, and she got to where she wanted to go. I am excited for her.”
Brown said Abrams developed her jump shot and became a better offensive player. He said she has enough size — she is right around 6-foot tall — and is athletic enough that she likely will be able to be just as versatile in college as she was in high school.
New Hope High softball coach Bobby Taylor has coached Abrams for the last two seasons. He agrees with Brown that Abrams is a talented athlete who could have picked basketball or softball. He, too, has seen Abrams grow as a player and has seen her be a team leader on and off the field.
“She is probably one of the female athletes out here,” Taylor said. “She gets along with everybody, works hard. I have never had a problem with her. I love her to death.”
Taylor believes Abrams can play softball in college if she wants to. He said he has talked to her about playing that sport at the next level, but he hasn’t pressured her. Taylor said he is excited Abrams will get an opportunity because she is going to do something she loves.
On Wednesday, that smile was back on Brown’s face as Abrams took pictures with her softball and basketball teammates.
“I knew she would go to the next level and play something,” Brown said. “When she said she wanted to play basketball at the next level, I said, ‘Let’s work. We have to do it.’ She did. She worked hard. We had our ups and downs, but she matured a good bit this year. She deserves it. I know she will continue to work, and Northeast is getting a good player. She could be going on to another school after Northeast if she really puts her mind to it.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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