‘I’ve got one more in me’: Perry finds new girls basketball coach

PERRY, Ga. — The Perry High School Lady Panthers have found their new basketball coach.

Fran McPherson, longtime coach for Marion County High School, brings championship experience and is known for building programs from the ground up.

During her time at MCHS, she led the Lady Eagles to two consecutive state championship games, winning it in 2019.

Though, despite boasting a winning program, McPherson needed a change of scenery. She decided Perry would be her final rebuild.

“For me it was time to move,” McPherson said. “I told Perry when I interviewed I’ve been doing this a long time, but I’ve got one program left…I feel like the challenge is there at Perry. The foundation has been set, it just needs another coach to come in and offer some stability.”

Stability is something the Perry girls basketball program needs, as McPherson is the third coach in as many years.

Preaching fundamentals, youth and community she’s ready to give the Lady Panthers their first winning record since the 2018-19 season.

“All I know to do is to just try to be me and do the things that I know have worked well in other places I’ve been,” McPherson said. “I don’t call myself very fancy I just like to put in a lot of hours and a lot of hard work on player development.”

“Bring your best every day and work on incorporating your younger kids, your middle school kids and making it a total program where you’re building a feeder system as well,” McPherson added. “One thing I like to do is practice a lot during the summer and take them to lots of camps and make things fun and exciting for them and take them to places maybe they’ve never been before. We did some local camps [in] Warner Robins, East Laurens and finished our summer with team stuff by going to Auburn. I always like to do a high-profile college or university and let the kids see what’s out there.”

Though she’s only just recently arrived as head coach, this summer has already given her an idea of what the team needs to do to improve over the course of the year.

“Some things we really want to push this year are getting stronger in the weight room. There were some games this summer I felt like maybe we could have won if we had been a little bit stronger and a little bit more physical in the rebounding and defense department,” McPherson said. “I think that’s got to be a commitment that our kids have got to make. They’ve got to commit to being in shape because the game is just so different today. It’s played at a fast pace, it’s so physical and so demanding. I think we’ve got to get our players to buy into that. If we want to develop a winning program, they’re going to have to develop those daily habits that lead them there.”

But their improvement doesn’t stay on the court — it extends into the Perry community.

“The other thing that I really like for my kids to do is give back to others,” McPherson said. “That will start next week with this group. We have a kiddie camp next week and the girls of course will volunteer at the camp. To me when you give back, teach the game and do community service you realize this is way bigger than the game. We’re representing ourselves, our parents and Perry High School. It’s an honor every time a kid gets to put on a uniform. It’s an honor that I get to represent them, coach them and represent the school.”

It’s these connections with each other and the surrounding community that helps McPherson do what she’s most proud of: Keeping tabs on where almost all of her former players go.

“I’ve coached a lot of players and the one thing I pride myself on is that I stay in touch with just about all of them,” McPherson said. “We talk, they call, we’re on Instagram together. I follow my players and their families; I’ve got doctors, nurses, beauticians. I love to see where [they end up]. That’s what we’re here for is to give them the confidence and the skills to go do what they’re going to do with the rest of their life.”

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