USC, Minnesota, University of California Berkeley, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Marquette and Washington State University, among others have inquired about Mesa freshman basketball player Novian Cherry who is getting ready to start his first season here.
Cherry is a very athletic and humble player who doesn’t take any of this for granted. After playing for Morse High School in San Diego, he took a risk and moved to West Virginia to play for West Virginia Prep Academy. “We had a whole bunch of talent. A lot of D1 players. We were going to play Oak Hill and a lot of the top prep schools in the country. But it turned out to be fake,” Cherry said. The entire team lived in a three bedroom apartment and struggled for food. The coach had scammed the team and left them hanging. “I just moved on from there. I had a whole bunch of obstacles and I’m just glad I’m here in beautiful San Diego.”
He is ready to work hard and his past proves that he can. “I actually got cut from my 8th grade team and that kind of fueled me,” Cherry said, “If you want to be something you have to really work for it. I didn’t have the talent back then, but I just continued to work, basically self-driven.”
The 6’4 shooting guard has a chance at Mesa to be a part of something special. He played with fellow Mesa teammate Darreon Tolliver at Morse High School where they lost to eventual state champion Lincoln High School, by just one point. Both are newcomers to Mesa, and Cherry has high expectations for the team, “My goal is to win as many games as we can, win league, and make a bid for the state championship.”
Mesa head coach Ed Helscher agrees with those goals but also has goals academically, “We’d like to win our conference, we’ve got a good group of guys who are doing pretty good academically and we want to see the sophomores move on and get good opportunities at four year schools.”
Cherry, who plans to major in either sports therapy or kinesiology can shoot and score just like the best college basketball players he has ever seen, Michael Beasley from Kansas State and J.J. Redick from Duke. Redick, now with the Clippers led the country in scoring his senior season, “Redick, he was a monster at Duke,” Cherry said with a big smile.
Cherry has played many great players including Malcolm Thomas and Jamaal Franklin who both went to San Diego State and then played in the NBA. If Cherry goes to USC, Washington St., or any school in a powerful conference, he will be playing against many future NBA players week after week.
Even though he is just a freshman, Cherry would qualify to move on after just his first year here. “I want what’s best for him. If its best for him to move on, then that’s what’s best,” said Helscher the day after Cherry took a visit to USC. Cherry is thinking the same thing, “It’s kind of up in the air right now. If I leave next year then I’ll have 3 years to play but if I stay then I’ll only have 2 to play on the next level.”
He certainly could leave, he already has verbal offers from Nevada, Loyola Marymount and Detroit.
On his future Cherry said, “A lot of schools are showing a lot of interest. Getting some scholarships is a blessing. Its kind of overwhelming, but if I continue to work it will all come, I’m not really worried, I’m just gonna do the best that I can.”