It has been four schools in four years and 1,044 points for French Camp basketball star Madison Klein. The senior and soon-to-be graduate was a freshman at Jackson Prep, a sophomore at St. Andrew's in Ridgeland and a junior at Germantown High School in her home county of Madison before a senior year at French Camp.
“I had a lot of things going on in my life. A lot happened to me,” she said. “A lot of things I did led to changing schools.”
She played basketball at Jackson Prep and St. Andrew's. “They're great schools. Great academic schools. Pretty decent athletic schools. But they just weren't the right fit for me.”
Klein was not able to play basketball during her one year at Germantown due to the MHSAA transfer rule. “It's really difficult not being able to do something that you really love, when you have to sit in the stands and watch other people do it.”
She was able to practice. “But that made it a lot harder being a part of it but not being able to step on the court and play.”
Then it was on to French Camp, the small school in Choctaw County with the country setting. “Me and my family felt that French Camp would be a great place for me, to grow spiritually and emotionally.”
Klein immediately became a leader for the Lady Panthers, averaging 21.7 points from the backcourt.
“It was very helpful having her senior leadership,” said coach Priscilla Anderson. “Not only did she help us with her scoring, she also facilitated the offense to get other people involved.”
She was the team’s only senior.
A southpaw, Klein scored many of her points by driving to the basket from the left side.
“Most people, when they play guard do go to their right, so when I go to my left it's a little bit of an adjustment for them (defenders).”
She is a boarding student. “It's definitely an adjustment living with 14 for 15 other girls. You have to learn to live with other people who have different opinions and ideas. But it gets you prepared for the real world.”
Klein is undecided about her future, but will continue her education and hopes to continue playing basketball. She has offers from several Mississippi junior colleges and Berry College, a four-year private liberal arts school in Mount Berry, Ga. She hopes to major in social work.
Klein plans to make a decision within a month based upon “where I know that I will have a good support system behind me so I can grow as a person and an athlete.”
As her year at French Camp nears an end and graduation awaits, she will miss the relationships formed with faculty and her fellow students. “They have made me a better person.”
Basketball is the only sport Klein played at French Camp, although she did play soccer when she was younger. “But from an early age, it was basketball all the way. I figured out that I was decent at it, so I kept working at it and here we are.”
