In Devotion to Youngsters, a Full-Court Press

So great is his love for basketball that in the 26 years he has volunteered at Barrington Recreation Center, Anthony Melton has not only coached his sons, but his nieces, nephews and grandkids too.

So deep is his belief in how basketball can transform young lives that not even losing the use of his legs could keep Melton from coaching.

And so novel is his commitment to coaching that the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA selected Melton out of nearly 50,000 coaches as one of 29 recipients of the program’s first Coach of the Year awards.

The awards recognize efforts by coaches, who receive certificates, both on and off the court to mold good sports.

“That was really surprising,” said Melton, 53, of Van Nuys. “I didn’t even know that anyone knew I existed.”

In fact, he is well known among staff and parents at the West Los Angeles center, where he has been a volunteer coach since 1977.

“When parents make a request for coaches, it is Anthony’s name that I hear most,” wrote David Gadelha, recreation facility director at Barrington, in a letter nominating Melton for the award.

“Despite having won many a championship, he’s never concerned with stats or the win-loss record; nor does he care about having the best team roster; and to him there aren’t any star players, just players waiting to be stars,” Gadelha said.

But Melton’s health has tested his commitment to coaching in recent years.

He has diabetes and has been paralyzed from the waist down since undergoing bypass surgery in his left leg in March 2001.

It was a blow to Melton, who had retired three months earlier from his job of 25 years as a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus driver.

“He was so depressed,” his wife, Carolyn, said. “He had kind of given up on everything, but when the little ones [his grandchildren] were ready to play, he was right there.”

He took the Barrington courts in a wheelchair the following spring.

“The hardest thing was not being able to run up and down the court,” Melton said. “Now it’s all verbal. The kids have to visualize what I’m saying.”

“He doesn’t scream, so the kids listen,” said Roya Bina, assistant coach of the Mavericks.

Melton is coaching the Nets, a team of 5- through 7-year-old boys and girls, and the Mavericks, a team of 9- through 11-year-olds. Four of his grandchildren are on the teams, including his granddaughter Lashanique Melton, 11.

“It’s just normal,” she said of being coached by her grandfather. “He’s been coaching me for six years.”

Ditto for Melton’s grown sons, Anthony Jr. and Duane.

“It’s like watching myself grow up again,” Anthony Jr. said. “I started at the same age as they did.”

But there are differences between the generations, the coach said. When he coached his sons, Melton said, the kids were bigger and more athletic.

“In 1977 this court would have been packed until 8 p.m., and there would have been 15 to 18 kids people waiting to play,” he said. “Now with video games and movies, there’s just so much more to do.”

Melton, however, has not allowed such distractions to hamper his coaching career.

To attend a weekly Nets practice, for example, he arranges a 3:30 p.m. ride through a transportation service for the disabled to make it to Barrington by 5.

On one recent evening, Gadelha said, a ride that Melton had scheduled to pick him up at 6:55 p.m. to take him home didn’t show up until 8:45 p.m.

Still, Melton perseveres.

He relies on his sons to take him to weekend games.

“They pick Dad up, toss me in the truck and we’re rolling,” Melton said.

He prides himself on teaching his young charges how to play every position and giving everyone time on the court.

At a recent evening practice, Melton focused on improving the Mavericks’ free throws, mixing praise with some no-nonsense advice.

“Amir, too high.... All you want to do is get it in front of the rim,” Melton advised Amir Kohanzad, 12.

“Good shot, Ben,” Melton later told Ben Gaynor, 9, who sported a visor and the jersey of Sacramento King forward Chris Webber. “Way to go, but basketball players don’t wear hats.”

A grin crept across the boy’s face, and he quickly handed his visor to Bina, who in addition to serving as assistant coach is Amir’s mother.

“My coach is really nice,” Ben said after practice. “He’s helping me improve my game.”

“My other coaches tell me my mistakes and then tell me not to do it again,” added Amir. “He shows me what I’m doing wrong and tells me how to fix it.”

Melton has inspired not only his players, but Gadelha as well. When Melton was hospitalized during the spring for congestive heart failure, he would call Gadelha from his hospital bed to check on his team and let him know who was covering his practices.

Since returning to Barrington, Melton has not eased up on his coaching schedule.

“He coaches basketball in the winter, spring, summer and sometimes fall,” Gadelha said.

Melton displayed his passion for coaching earlier this month when the Mavericks squared off against the Blazers at University High School in West Los Angeles.

“You’re doing a great job on defense and they’re bigger than you, which just shows it doesn’t matter,” he told his players during a break. “Remember, we don’t care who scores, as long as it’s a Maverick.”

The Blazers won 21 to 19, but you couldn’t tell by listening to Melton.

“It was outstanding,” he said. “We were undersized, undermanned, but they didn’t give up. They didn’t quit at all.”

Just like Melton.