All-Area Basketball: Rosewood's Mercer named girls' player-of-the-year

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on April 9, 2015 1:48 PM

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"You can never be satisfied," said Mercer, who admits there is plenty of work yet to be done her game. "... you just have to continue to be better, because I'm never going to be content with what I've got.

"I'm always going to want to be a step ahead."

Mercer's relentless work ethic is the backbone of her success. She spends Sundays working out with a personal trainer, pushing herself for over four hours a day. Just this past week, she did 500 right-handed "ball pounds" and completed 300 made free throws.

Her routine doesn't slow down during the school week -- there's no time for rest when you have an AAU travel team as well as Rosewood's soccer team.

(Because you were wondering: yes, she does lead her team in goals. In six games played, Mercer has scored 14 times. The next closest teammate has four. Not bad for an offseason "hobby.")

Basketball is her true passion.

It's easy to get caught up in her stats.

That's not what her coach, Rick Grantham, thinks makes her the special player she is.

"Well, of course her best quality is that she's the best teammate," he said. "Though that doesn't get as much publicity as putting the ball in the goal. She's really grown in every facet of the game."

Mercer was a model of consistency this season. She scored 20 or more points in 27 games this season. She has tallied 688 total points in each of the last two years.

"She played better this year than last year," Grantham said. "It's a credit to her work in the offseason and with her AAU team, as well as working out with her trainer. She's grown a lot."

Despite being a varsity starter since the moment she stepped onto Rosewood's court, it's taken some time for Mercer to grow into a "team leader" role. Now that she has, though, there's no telling how far Rosewood can go.

"I've kind of been around for a while," Mercer said. "(All my teammates) have faith in me and what I can do. They look to me for advice and I try to give them the best advice that I can. I try to be an all-around team player."

Grantham credits Mercer's demeanor when asked about leadership.

"The difference with her is that a lot of your typical leaders are very 'rah rah' and command respect by the loudness of their voice," he said. "I don't think she's like that. We don't need that kind of leadership. We need people that just go get it done, and she does."

College recruiters have been after Mercer for several seasons. She doesn't plan to formally commit until after her summer AAU season, but has received 10 scholarship offers -- including a few Atlantic Coast Conference schools.

A huge North Carolina fan, Mercer's top choice is N.C. State.

"I like their coaching style," she said. "I liked the school when I visited, and I like the things they're doing with their program."

That's a bridge she'll cross once she gets there, though.

Once she does, she'll have left Rosewood and Wayne County -- widely considered one of, if not the best -- players to ever play here.

"I haven't really sat down to think about it," Mercer said. "I'm just focused on what I'm doing now instead of what's going to happen in the future. I'm just taking it one day at a time."