When Chasity Melvin walked back into Lakewood High School’s gymnasium for her first practices as the Lady Leopards’ new head basketball coach, it wasn’t just another stop in a basketball career that has spanned nearly three decades. It was a homecoming.
The former Lakewood standout, North Carolina State star and WNBA veteran has officially returned to the place where her basketball journey began, accepting the reins of a Lady Leopards program with championship aspirations. Joining her on the bench will be someone who has shared nearly every step of that journey — her sister, Danielle Melvin Koonce, who will serve as assistant coach.
For Melvin, the opportunity is both nostalgic and invigorating.
“It was a little surreal,” Melvin recalle during a recent interview. “I’ve been back home about two weeks now, and it’s literally like déjà vu because my assistant coach is my sister Danielle. Going back inside the gym and working with the girls is just a quick reminder of how we were when we were playing basketball here in high school. It just brings back great memories.
“I’m really excited about it. We have some good kids. Obviously, we have one of the superstars in the county in Areona McKoy, and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.”
Lakewood athletic director Darren Hulen believes bringing the Melvin sisters back to Lakewood is a perfect fit for a program that has steadily climbed into the upper tier of area girls basketball.
“Having both Chasity and Danielle return to the Lakewood basketball program is like a dream,” Hulen attested. “We are thrilled and filled with anticipation to see what they bring to our community. Coach Kerr has built a strong program with his tenure as head coach and the Melvins should only take it and skyrocket.”
Melvin inherits a team loaded with experience after the Lady Leopards made another deep postseason run last winter without graduating a senior. Instead of beginning a rebuilding process, she’ll take over a roster that already understands how close it came to reaching its ultimate goal.
“I saw the hurt and frustration in the girls when they lost last year,” Melvin reflected. “For me, this wasn’t an easy decision. I had to drop my ego. But at the end of the day, my goal is always to win and to be the best.”
That competitive fire has never faded.
In fact, Melvin admitted coaching at Lakewood may present more pressure than any professional opportunity she’s had.
“As a head coach, this will probably be my hardest job,” she acknowledged. “If I get another opportunity at the highest level, it probably won’t be as much pressure as I have now because I know this young team wants to win. They want another opportunity to make it to a championship game.
“Everybody knows my background. They know my résumé. The pressure isn’t just from the team. It’s from supporters, fans and myself. But that’s good pressure because it’s going to make me a better coach.”
Although her résumé includes coaching experience at basketball’s highest levels, Melvin views Lakewood as the opportunity to develop her own voice as a head coach.
“My dream has always been to coach at the highest level,” she explained. “I’ve had some great opportunities, but only as an assistant coach. Right now, I really look forward to honing my own head coaching voice and practicing the things I’ve learned from other coaches while implementing my own system.
“I think this is a great opportunity for me to reset, redirect myself and get back in line with my goals.”
Her coaching philosophy blends traditional basketball principles with today’s modern style of play.
“I think you always have to use the fundamentals of basketball,” Melvin stressed. “There are a lot of old-school techniques that are still valuable today. Then you’ve got to mix them with a little bit of the new school. There has to be a strategic balance.”
She believes every player should be equipped with a complete skill set instead of being confined by traditional positions.
“When I played, I was the tallest player on the team, so I only played inside,” she remembered. “Coaches didn’t want centers putting the ball on the floor. The game has changed.
“I still believe in having a point guard and a center, but I want to coach every player and teach the basic fundamentals from every position. At the same time, if you have a particular strength, I want you to excel at that too.”
Melvin’s greatest emphasis, however, may not be X’s and O’s.It’s relationships.
She wants her players to see that she’s willing to work alongside them.
“If I’m asking them to do hard things and they see me getting out there on the court and doing some of the drills with them, it makes it easier for them to buy in,” the new head coach noted. “I’m definitely someone who leads by example. I want to empower them.”
Already, she’s found herself impressed by several returning players, particularly Trinity Bell, whose development has stood out during early summer workouts.
“She’s one of my most coachable kids,” Melvin praised. “She’s improving every day. She’s taking everything in like a sponge. She’s the first one to buy in and change bad habits. I really enjoy coaching her.”
Melvin has also challenged rising senior Jahmai Rich to think beyond high school.
“I’ve already told her I believe she can earn a college scholarship,” Melvin shared. “But she’s going to have to put a lot of work in.”
For Melvin, developing players extends beyond basketball ability. She wants to build confidence that lasts long after the final buzzer.
The Lady Leopards will begin that process almost immediately, competing in summer jamborees before heading to the Bermuda Run Tournament, all while missing standout McKoy, who will attend an elite camp at East Carolina.
Rather than seeing that as a setback, Melvin views it as an opportunity for others to emerge.
“We won’t have Areona, but I actually look forward to that challenge,” she remarked. “It’s going to build confidence in the other girls and show them what they’re capable of.”
Returning home has also reunited Melvin with many of the coaches and mentors who influenced her own basketball career.
She spoke fondly of longtime area coaches such as Clinton’s Chris Owens and Union’s Bobby Lamb, recalling countless pickup games that sharpened her game during WNBA offseasons.
“They used to beat me up in the gym,” Melvin laughed. “Those guys taught me a lot of old-school tricks. I have a lot of respect for them because they teach the fundamentals, and I know they’re going to help make me a better coach.”
While the excitement surrounding her arrival is unmistakable, Melvin is careful not to place unrealistic expectations on her players.
She’ll carry enough of those herself.
“I don’t want to put that pressure on the team,” she said. “But I definitely put it on myself. I want to be extremely successful in this first year. With this core group coming back and everything Coach Kerr already built, I think we have a great opportunity.”
For Lakewood, the hiring represents more than adding an accomplished coach.
It brings home one of its own.
A hometown star whose name is already etched into the school’s basketball history now has the opportunity to leave an even greater legacy—not as the player cutting down nets, but as the coach helping another generation of Lady Leopards chase the same dream she once lived.
And for Chasity Melvin, there may be no better place to write the next chapter than the gym where the first one began.