As she walked out of the gym with a big smile on her face, one would barely notice the walking boot on her leg.

What was thought to be splints, turned out to be a stress fracture for Marlene MacMillan, starting senior forward for the CSU East Bay women’s basketball team, who learned she might be out of the lineup for four weeks.

While most would be down after learning such devastating news, McMillian is just the opposite.

On the court McMillian is a double-double waiting to happen as last season she led team in scoring (9.2) and rebounding (9.3).

To fully know the potential All-Conference player, off the court, would require getting to know who she was, who she is and who she wants to be.

Born in Oakland, McMillian spent most of her childhood days running around outside like most children. Always active and always finding kids to play with, MacMillan found herself befriending mostly boys.

“I always wanted to play sports. Any sports. All sports. Just sports,” she said.

The youngest of seven kids, McMillian grew up with only two of her siblings in the household but rarely remembers spending much time outside of the house with them

“I never played with them though,” she says, “They were not into sports.”

Little did McMillian know, sports would become the focal point of her life.

While in middle school she found herself moving from the city in the Bay to Tracy, a town in the Central Valley.

She attended Tracy high school where she landed a spot on her very first basketball team. When she was a junior she

joined her very first club team.

Basketball wasn’t McMillian’s only sport in high school. She was a versatile track athlete and was a Swiss Army Knife of sorts as she was able to compete in any track needed

“I did any event. Anything they wanted me to do. I did it all,” she explained. “And I still wanted more.”

Having always wanted to play college ball, McMillian decided CSUEB was the right choice for her as it was close to her hometown.

McMillian’s contributions have been a staple to the Pioneer program as they have transitioned into Division II.

Playing since freshman year, McMillian has been in the starting role for the majority of her career and has led the team in rebounding the last two seasons.

Her teammates adore her as she is seen as a leader and friend to them.

“She is funny, loves to laugh [and] is very welcoming.” says teammate Sabrina Swayzer.

Other friends enjoy her smile and outgoing nature.

“She is always just smiling, [and] such a happy person,” says friend of two years Heidi Labarang “She doesn’t get into too much trouble. She is very level headed.”

She plans on sending tapes overseas in hopes of landing a basketball contract but if that does not work out she has other goals.

While playing basketball after college in the U.S. is an attainable goal for McMillian, she does have a backup plan.

MacMillan is majoring in human development with options in adolescent and adult development and hopes to  one day work with disadvantaged teenagers from poor areas.

With her final season just beginning, as she sits out for the next few weeks, McMillian is optimistic that the season will be a success. “It’s going to be a good year. I already know it’s going to be a good year,” she said emphatically.