Next Step For JSCLA Star
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com editor
In between moments of tearful joy and remembrances, Erianna Ned remembered the journey and how it has affected her basketball career.
After signing a basketball scholarship with LSU-Eunice on Monday, the J.S. Clark Leadership Academy senior spoke about the questions she previously had concerning her athletic career and the emotional aspects associated with personal loss.
“I’ve had a lot of decisions to make and work through, but I stayed with it and went through the process. In basketball it was a case of wanting to play and then growing into it.
“I knew that all along that I had to work through things so that I would not let myself and my teammates down,” Ned said after the signing event in the school gymnasium.
It was evident that Ned has had a strong familial support system as guiding forces.
That was obvious on Monday.
Surrounding her ceremony were several generations of relatives, including parents, grandparents, nieces, nephews and cousins who came to witness the event.
In a short testimonial, Ned told those who attended the event that she appreciated their support and the assistance from school officials, teammates and family.
During a recent Daily Advertiser interview after she was voted the Readers Choice Girls Basketball Player Of The Year, Ned said she encountered difficulties this season navigating through the grief that gripped her following the death of an uncle, Bryan Walker.
The uncertainties attached to that event were poignant, Ned said in the interview, reaching a point where she was uncertain about whether she wanted to continue playing basketball.
LSUE was an obvious landing spot for the start of her college career, Ned said, since the Bengals have a solid women’s program that won a 2024-25 conference championship.
“It’s a great program. The coaches there and the players were very open to me,” said Ned, who at 5-foot-9 is expected to play both the wing and forward at LSUE.
Other schools were interested in her, Ned said.
Those programs included South Arkansas, Southern University-Shreveport and Louisiana Christian University.
During her career Ned was a key piece of the JSCLA program that in three years, won a Class B state championship, while playing for a Class 1A-select title this past season.
The chance to play the post position collegiately might be challenging, but Ned said she anticipates the opportunity for displaying underneath the basket as well as shooting and defending the outside.
