Scott Cherry

Scott Cherry
Scott Cherry in 2013
Current position
TitleAssistant coach
TeamCentral Michigan
ConferenceMAC
Biographical details
Born (1971-02-18) February 18, 1971 (age 53)
Ballston Spa, New York, U.S.
Playing career
1989–1993North Carolina
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1997–1998Bishop McGuinness HS (asst.)
1998–1999Middle Tennessee State (women's asst.)
1999–2002George Mason (asst.)
2002–2003Tennessee Tech (asst.)
2003–2007George Mason (asst.)
2007–2008Western Kentucky (asst.)
2008–2009South Carolina (asst.)
2009–2018High Point
2021–2023Jacksonville (asst.)
2023–presentCentral Michigan (asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall146–134 (.521)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4 Big South regular season (2013–2016)
2 Big South North Division (2013, 2014)
Awards
Big South Coach of the Year (2014)

Scott Douglas Cherry (born February 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at High Point University. He replaced Bart Lundy in 2009.[1] Cherry is a native of Ballston Spa, New York.[2][3]

High school career

Cherry played for the Saratoga Central Catholic High School Saints in Saratoga Springs, New York. He played under coach Bob King who is widely considered Spa Catholic's greatest basketball coach of all time. University of North Carolina basketball head coach Dean Smith visited the Spa Catholic gym to sign Cherry in 1988.

College career

Cherry played for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team under Dean Smith from 1989 to 1993.[4] He was a senior captain on the Tar Heel team that won the 1993 NCAA Tournament.[4]

Pre-coaching career

Following his college career, Cherry played one season for AEL in Limassol, Cyprus.[2][3][5] He then returned to the U.S. and subsequently became a forklift salesman for three years.[5]

Coaching career

Early Coaching

Cherry began his coaching career in 1997 as an assistant coach at Bishop McGuinness (NC) High School.[3][5][6] He then spent one season as a women's basketball assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State.[3][6]

In 1999, he began the first of two stints as an assistant to Jim Larranaga at George Mason.[6] He left the Patriots in 2002 and spent one year as an assistant at Tennessee Tech.[5][6] He returned to George Mason in 2003 and participated in the Patriots 2006 run to the Final Four.[6]

In 2007, he joined the staff of Darrin Horn as an assistant at Western Kentucky.[6] Cherry followed Horn to South Carolina for the 2008–09 season.[6] He was named the head coach of High Point on March 26, 2009.[7][8]

High Point

Cherry was hired as High Point Men's Basketball Coach on March 26, 2009. His first season in High Point, HPU finished 15–15, a 6-game winning improvement for the previous season. The next season in High Point, Cherry lead his team to a 12–19 record, and a semi-final spot in the Big South tournament, something High Point hadn't accomplished in 3 years. Cherry finished the 11–12 season with a 13–18 record, and High Point ranked 6th in the NCAA in three-point percentage. The next season, High Point played non-conference games at Wake Forest (L 60–71) and Eastern Kentucky (L 70–73). The Panthers finished 17–14, and won the Big South north division, earning them a spot in the 2013 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, this was the schools first postseason appearance since becoming an NCAA division one school. Cherry was given a 3-year contract extension running through the 16–17 season.[9] Cherry again led the Panthers to a Big South north division championship, and the outright regular season championship, another program first. The Panthers were invited to the 2014 National Invitation Tournament, losing in the first round to Richard Pitino's Minnesota's team. Cherry led High Point to the best start in school history in 2014–15 campaign, starting the season 14–3. High Point lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, but received a bid to play in the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Panthers earned their first postseason D1 victory with a 70–64 win over Maryland Eastern Shore. Cherry become the winningest coach in the D1 era, passing Bart Lundy, in a 93–69 win over NC Wesleyan on Nov 15, 2015. It was Cherry's 97th win at High Point.[10]

On March 7, 2018, Cherry and High Point mutually agreed to part ways.[11]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
High Point Panthers (Big South Conference) (2009–2018)
2009–10 High Point 15–15[12] 10–8[12] T–5th[13]
2010–11 High Point 12–19[14] 7–11[14] T–7th[15]
2011–12 High Point 13–18[16] 8–10[16] T–6th[17]
2012–13 High Point 17–14 12–4 1st (North) CIT First Round
2013–14 High Point 16–15 12–4 1st (North) NIT First Round
2014–15 High Point 23–10 13–5 T–1st CIT Second Round
2015–16 High Point 21–11 13–5 T–1st NIT First Round
2016–17 High Point 15–16 9–9 5th
2017–18 High Point 14–16 9–9 T–5th
High Point: 146–134 (.521) 92–65 (.586)
Total: 146–134 (.521)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ NCAA Division I coaching changes – Men's College Basketball – ESPN
  2. ^ a b High Point University – 2010–11 Men's Basketball Coaching Staff
  3. ^ a b c d South Carolina Official Athletic Site – Men's Basketball
  4. ^ a b "2009–10 University of North Carolina Media Guide". 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
  5. ^ a b c d Dana O'Neil: A little blue blood, a little blue-collar – ESPN
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "2009–10 Men's Basketball Coaching Staff". 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
  7. ^ "Scott Cherry named High Point coach". 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
  8. ^ High Point Names Scott Cherry Men's Basketball Coach – BigSouthSports.com—Official Web Site of the Big South Conference
  9. ^ "High Point Gives Scott Cherry Contract Extension". 2013.
  10. ^ "HPU storms past NC Wesleyan, 93–69". 2015.
  11. ^ Srakokic, Keith (March 7, 2018). "Scott Cherry out as High Point University head coach". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  12. ^ a b High Point Panthers Basketball 2009–10 Schedule – Panthers Home and Away – ESPN
  13. ^ Big South Conference Standings (2009–10) – College Basketball – ESPN
  14. ^ a b High Point Panthers Basketball 2010–11 Schedule – Panthers Home and Away – ESPN
  15. ^ Big South Conference Standings (2010–11) – College Basketball – ESPN
  16. ^ a b High Point Panthers Basketball 2011–12 Schedule – Panthers Home and Away – ESPN
  17. ^ Big South Conference Standings (2011–12) – College Basketball – ESPN