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Prepping for Preps: Cherokee (N.J.)

11/18/2015, 12:30pm EST
By Kevin Troilo

Kevin Brown (above) is one of several returning starters for an experienced Cherokee squad. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Kevin Troilo (@kevin_troilo)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of CoBL's "Prepping for Preps," our series of articles previewing area high school teams for the 2015-16 season. For the complete list of schools previewed so far, click here)

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Eric Cassidy is no stranger to success.

A former 1,000-point scorer at Gloucester High School, Cassidy led the Cougars of Schalick to the previous two South Jersey Group 1 championship games during his six seasons as head coach. He also took home Salem County coach of the year honors in 2012.

It’s not often a school hires a head coach at the age of 23, but Cassidy is grateful to have been given that opportunity at the small high school in Pittsgrove.

“It was a really exciting thing for me at that point,” Cassidy said. “Not too many schools would do that at such a young age, but it was a learning curve. Every year we got better and better which is what you want as a program.”  

This past June, Cassidy officially accepted the head coaching position at Cherokee High School. He took over for Matt Shultz, who posted a 64-64 record in five seasons in Marlton and led the Chiefs to the playoffs each of the past three years.

“The toughest part of leaving was saying goodbye to those kids. Those kids battled for me,” Cassidy said about Schalick. “The only way I was leaving there was for an unbelievably special place. Cherokee is that place.”

Cassidy’s ambition to win will only grow at Cherokee. The Chiefs are coming off consecutive trips to the Group 4 title game, both times falling to Cherry Hill East.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for this Cherokee team will be overcoming the loss of 6-3 playmaker Paul Bellamy. Bellamy averaged 19.5 points and 5 boards during his senior season, as well as eclipsing the 1,000 point mark for his career. He was named first team all Olympic Conference in the American Division.

Cassidy will be the beneficiary of a roster that returns four seniors, including Marcus Marshall, 6-6 forward Grant Gibson and shooting guard Kevin Brown, all of whom have seen significant minutes during their careers at Cherokee.

“Everyone in the organization is very excited to play for Coach Cassidy,” Brown said.

Gibson missed his entire sophomore season as he struggled in an ongoing battle with Crohn’s disease. Since then, he has gained nearly 50 pounds and will be able to use his length to help lead this Chiefs team on both sides of the floor.

“I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to let the disease define me or stop me from playing the game I love,” Gibson said. “My teammates were great with me, always asking how I was feeling or just helping me out in school.”

Joining them is second team all American Division guard Tyler Tobin, who averaged just less than seven points a contest in 18 games last season.

Although Cassidy spent time with his team at the Temple University team camp and throughout summer league games, tryouts will officially start on November 23, giving him the opportunity to really see what he and his staff are working with this upcoming season.

“I’m bringing in a new philosophy,” Cassidy said. “These seniors that have had three years with another coach, everything is brand new to them. To install the system and install what we want is going to take time. We’re going to play up-tempo and push the basketball.”

“He [Cassidy] told us that we’re going to play a lot more up-tempo this year, trying to score in the 60’s and 70’s, which should be exciting,” Gibson said.

Being that Cassidy is only in his late 20’s, there is a certain level of immediate connection to the players.

“I kind of fill the big brother need,” Cassidy said. “But I want their respect and I get their respect. They know that they’re going to get everything out of me. My philosophy is that you come into the program as a freshman as a boy and you leave when you’re a senior as a young man.”

Coming from the Tri-County Conference to the Olympic Conference presents a big challenge for Cassidy as he leads a school nearly four times the size of Schalick. The schools in the Olympic have much deeper rosters than those in the Tri-County.

“We went and played the biggest schools when I was at Schalick,” Cassidy said. “The Olympic Conference, in my opinion, is the best conference in south Jersey. I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s going to be a war every night.”

“We have a very deep lineup coming into the season, full of veterans who are used to playing against tough competition night in and night out. That’s the kind of thing that can get you far,” Brown said.

“Our past two seasons making it to the sectional finals gives us a lot of experience,” Brown said. “We don’t want to be stopped at the same spot in the playoffs three years in a row.”

“For me and the five other seniors, we made a promise that we would get back to the south Jersey championship game and win it after losing the past two years,” Gibson said.

That season long war will begin with a trip to Winslow Township High School on December 18.


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