Hart girls’ basketball coach Jerry Mike remembers the email vividly when he first found out about incoming freshman Morgan Mack.  “I didn’t hear much about her,” Mike said. “I had a teacher send me an email and told me there’s a girl in her class that’s beating all the boys and maybe I should be interested.”  Mack was that freshman, who didn’t participate in the team’s summer camp but approached the coach weeks into the school year about joining the program.  Fast forward four years, two Foothill League championships, one CIF finalist run and one league MVP title later, Mack became Mike’s first player at Hart to commit to play Division 1 basketball.  Mack announced her commitment online in late October and signed her national letter of intent on Wednesday to Long Beach State, a school that instantly struck Mack as a second home.  I am very excited to announce that I have committed to play D1 Basketball at Long Beach St #committed #GoBeach #BigWest @LBSUWBB pic.twitter.com/1qePwFQRNh— MORGANMACK (@MackDeion) October 26, 2024 “I wanted to go somewhere where it felt like a second home for me just knowing I’d be there for four years,” Mack said. “The coaching staff made me so comfortable, and it felt like a second home. They’ve been with me since the beginning. They’ve believed in me sometimes when I didn’t believe in myself … They treated me with open arms. It was like a second family for me. So I think I did wait a little bit but I knew it was Long Beach.”  The senior mulled through multiple offers including potential spots with San Diego State and North Carolina A&T.  Mack credits her family for believing in her and supporting her throughout her 10-plus-year basketball journey. Her brother Bryce Mack played football at Northwestern Oklahoma State while her mom, Shareese, was always there supporting and driving her to games and practices.  “(Bryce) kind of set the standard for me,” Morgan said. “Everything with balancing schoolwork and football. He set up for me to know what I wanted to do … My family. Definitely my mother, she’s my No. 1 supporter. She’s sacrificed so much for me, always being at my games, driving me to games and practices and just always being for me, good or bad.”  Courtesy photo. Mack, the reigning 2023 Foothill League MVP, has been a vital piece in lifting Hart girls’ basketball to new heights. With a highly anticipated senior season still in front of her, which will cap off her decorated four-year varsity career, Mack decided on her fate for the following four years. Mack knows she didn’t single-handedly change the course of the program and credited coach Mike and her teammates.  “It’s been a great four years,” Mack said. “Hart really wasn’t known for girls basketball but the last three years before we’ve been putting it on for Hart, girls basketball and girls sports in general. The players, Laney (Grider), Vanessa (Zavala), Elyse (Mitchell) and Arleigh Eav helped me with little things like leadership, just taking accountability. And of course, the great coaching, coach Mike and coach (Zach) Koebel, they’ve been there along the way.”  Hart teammates Morgan Mack (13), Arleigh Eav (2) and Laney Grider (4) celebrate after they defeated Canyon in a Foothill League game at the Hart High School gymnasium in Newhall, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. Hart won 51-48. Chris Torres/The Signal Within a couple of months, the freshman Mack was in the varsity starting five. Mike knew he had something special in his freshman from the get-go.  “I thought (she could play Division 1) her freshman year,” Mike said. “She just continued to improve. She’s gotten stronger and has speed up and down the courts. She’s gotten better in her defense. She’s made the improvements that she needed to be a Division 1 player. But the skill set was there. I saw that right away.”  Mike watched his star grow over the past few seasons on the court but also saw his once-quiet freshman take on a leadership role in her upper-class years.  “We had all 30 players in the small gym for the fall because they had all that construction going on in the main gym,” Mike said. “We had about four or five weeks where it was all of us and she was just great with the lower levels. She was encouraging, being super supportive, and just doing it the right way. She’s been a blessing to coach. I’m lucky to have her.”  Mike also praised his guard for her work in the weightroom as she’s gotten stronger every season for Hart. The coach couldn’t really tell you one thing that stands out about Mack. She passes well, can score from anywhere, rebounds and plays lights-out defense. One thing he may mention is her absurd amount of buzzer beaters.  Morgan Mack (13) of Hart drives to the basket against Canyon defenders Arianna Rodriguez (12) and Josie Regez (23) at Hart High on Friday, 020224. Dan Watson/The Signal “She must have a dozen or so buzzer beaters,” Mike said. “She had one against Golden Valley at home, where I had to rewind it like eight times because in the background there’s the boys varsity team for Golden Valley waiting to take the floor at halftime, to shoot or something. She drove in, just inside the line, hesitated, put the ball behind her back, stepped back, like James Harden, and then whacked it, 22-footer, all net. It was funny because the reaction of the Golden Valley boys in the background was just classic. They really enjoyed it.”  Mike also believes Mack has never shied away in any high-stakes game and only plays better when the competition is fierce.  “The better the competition, the better she plays,” Mike said. “The bigger the game, the better she plays. She’s worth the price of admission. I tell people to come watch. You’re going to see a complete player. You’re going to see someone who understands a game and who plays it the right way. I’m super excited for this year. I’m glad she’s going to stay local, so we get to watch her. I can only imagine what she’s going to do in two or three years.”  Mack will only be a short drive down the freeway come the 2025-26 school year. For now, she’s locked in on fighting for a three-peat of Foothill League titles with Hart this season, a season she is aiming to take just one day at a time.  The Hart girls basketball team celebrates after winning the championship against Canyon at Hart High on Friday, 020224. Dan Watson/The Signal “It’s just a blessing,” Mack said. “I’m truly grateful. I’m excited for my senior year. I’m really grateful of where I’ll be playing the next four years, also not even just for basketball, but continuing my education at such a great school. I’m just really excited and staying locked in, just making sure I’m doing what I need to do. For my senior year, it came so quick. I felt like freshman year, I was like, ‘I wish I was a senior,’ but now it’s like, hitting me. I’m almost done. I’m excited to be playing with my seniors and just taking it day by day, every practice, every weight room and every game.”  The senior retakes the floor with Hart heading into a pair of tournaments in La Verne and San Diego to start the season before entering Foothill League play on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at home with Valencia.   Mack has risen to the level of competition time after time and her playing career may be just getting started.   “She’ll be in the discussion for top five players all-time from the valley,” Mike said. “She’s elevated the level of play, not just at Hart, but in the Foothill League. She’s done a lot for the program.”  Courtesy photo.The post Mack commits to Long Beach hoops  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.