Westtown’s Meliah Van-Otoo bringing a championship mentality to Loyola Maryland

When Fran Burbidge took over the Westtown girls’ basketball program in 2019, his first order of business was to implement his coaching and play style. He began to have conversations with every player on his new roster, letting them know that accountability and work ethic were going to be undisputed pillars.

Though the Moose had plenty of upperclassmen in the program, including a few being recruited by major ACC and Atlantic 10 schools, Burbidge knew a sophomore, Meliah Van-Otoo, would be a critical part of his team’s success.

Burbidge runs a mostly position-less offense, where every player is responsible for scoring, rebounding, and spreading the ball. But even in a deconstructed offense, the point guard position matters. Burbidge knew that when the flow of the game broke down, he needed someone he could trust to get the offense humming again. It didn’t take him long to realize that Van-Otoo could be that player.

“Right from the jump, she probably got coached a little harder than the others because of the position she was playing,” Burbidge said. “She had more of a responsibility to be better, not turn the ball over, and [get] it to the right people.

“We had those discussions, and she was OK with that. Verbally, she said, ‘that’s fine, that’s what I want.’”

In the three years since claiming Westtown’s point guard spot, Van-Otoo’s biggest on-court strength became her ability to distribute the ball. Years of playing with future Division I talent had taught her how to make sure her teammates were getting theirs. But Van-Otoo also learned how to score when necessary.

This past season, Van-Otoo was one of three captains for Westtown during its PAISAA state championship run. The championship was the first in Westtown girls basketball history and came after two seasons of pandemic-induced interruptions and cancellations. It was in that final game of the season that Burbidge and his staff were reminded of just how much of a difference Van-Otoo can make on the floor.

In the closing minutes of Westtown’s victory over Penn Charter, the Moose’s leading scorer fouled out. With the game on the line, Van-Otoo stepped up and made two baskets to help Westtown escape with a 51-50 victory.

To Burbidge, the sequence of plays perfectly captured Van-Otoo’s growth as a point guard.

“She was, talent-wise, capable enough to do that,” Burbidge said. “But [she] also understood the situation that we were in, she needed to look to score the basketball. I thought that was not only beneficial for us in the state [championship], but it was a great recognition part and growth part for her.”

Van-Otoo has started to adopt the longtime coach’s philosophy toward winning, where one’s focus should be on playing the game the right way.

“The goals for me were just to get better and just be a resource to help my team,” Van-Otoo said. “[I wanted] to be the best that we could be in terms of on the court, off the court and also just be a great leader.

“If you ask anybody on our team, the coaches coming into the season, we don’t really even talk about a state title or Friends League championship. We know if we play a certain way that winning comes with that.”

Another thing that came with that mentality was a scholarship offer from Loyola University Maryland. The Drexel Hill native committed to the Greyhounds at the end of March. Unlike perennial contender Westtown, Loyola University Maryland is a rebuilding program. The team finished 5-24 this season, its first under new head coach Danielle O’Banion.

Van-Otoo doesn’t put too much stock in past performance.

“I know coach [O’Banion] is new to the program, but her culture is a positive culture that I wanted to join,” Van-Otoo said. “I feel if you have a positive culture, winning comes with that.”

On Wednesday, Van-Otoo is expected to sign her national letter of intent. But before she heads down to Maryland in the fall, Van-Otoo is still finding ways to make an impact on Westtown. So far this offseason, that’s meant mentoring the point guard set to replace her as well as being a resource for every underclassman on the Moose’s roster.

“Meliah will be lending a hand to players long after she’s left,” Westtown associate head coach Doug West said. “Because we will always be able to reflect back on the things that she did and that this group did, and that’s exciting.”