Norwich — Dave Shea, almost of 800 wins now at Bacon Academy, saw a coaching buddy moments after this game ended Tuesday night. Nearly before there was a “hello,” Shea said this:

“See that? The MVP is from Colchester,” Shea said, with some exasperation.

From Colchester, yes.

But not Bacon Academy.

Explanation: Shea alluded to Colchester resident Xaryia Melendez, a senior at New London High, named the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I Tournament Most Valuable Player, following the Whalers’ 54-40 victory in the championship game.

This is life now in our corner of the world — and many other corners as well. Families have a buffet line of high school choices extending beyond town borders. Indeed, “X,” as her friends call her, could have brought it home for Bacon on Tuesday night. Instead, she fried it in a pan. The kids with whom she once played middle school basketball become the opponents on whom she scored 14 points.

“I would rather have had her play for me the last four years,” Shea said. “They’ve got that magnet school that pulls people from all over. We’re a medium sized school and they’re all Colchester kids.”

New London coach Holly Misto, upon hearing her counterpart’s assessment of the evening, said, “Dave is playing in Class M. We have to go to the state tournament and play in Class LL (carrying the added magnet school enrollment) as a Class M school. So take care of what you’re supposed to do and we’ll take care of what we’re supposed to.

“X Melendez has been in our school four years and we’ve developed her as a player for the last four years. She’s also had the opportunity to play with a lot of talent. They all make each other better.”

Turns out this wasn’t merely a basketball decision for Melendez and her family. They’re well aware of Bacon’s basketball tradition, particularly in the past 10 years when Shea has won two state championships. This was about academics, too.

Melendez wants to be a physician. She found the Science and Technology Magnet School’s biomedical program most appealing. Melendez, also wary of her Hispanic and African-American roots, also knew the Colchester school system was mostly white. New London felt right.

“I don’t feel guilty at all,” Melendez said. “I knew what I wanted to do for school and basketball. But it wasn’t just basketball. New London has a great biomedical program. I want to go into medicine. That’s why I went there.”

Teammate Spencer Roman said, “Basketball can end any second. But when you have great academics behind you, you’re on your way. She’s getting into great colleges. That’s what New London gave her.”

Melendez, effortlessly polite, will decide among Hofstra, St. John’s and Quinnipiac, reporting that all three schools have offered enticing financial packages.

Kind of a neat story here, at least for the more open-minded of the masses. Yes, kids can choose New London schools for academic reasons, too, despite the city’s estimable sports tradition. The 2019 girls’ basketball MVP is living proof.

“X is like a sister. We’ll go at it in practice. Not yelling. More like having constructive criticism with each other. Pretty harshly. Two minutes later, we’re making a joke.'' Roman said. "The freshmen look at us like, ‘I wish I had friends I could argue with and be friends with two seconds later.’ She leads by example.”

The Melendez subplot wasn’t lost on the Whaler family during the day Tuesday. They knew this was a biggie for her.

“My dad sent me a text today that said, ‘X chose to come here for her academics and her basketball career. Put on for her.’” Roman said. “We love her.”

Yes they do. And while it may irritate the folks in her hometown, there’s no denying Melendez has enjoyed her time in the 06320, capitalizing on the educational opportunity she saw. The basketball hasn’t been too bad either. It’s called win-win.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro