South Carolina Gamecocks

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Scott Cherry

Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 1st Season

Scott Cherry begins his first season as an assistant coach on the Gamecock coaching staff. Cherry most recently served as an assistant under head coach Darrin Horn at Western Kentucky.

In his nine years as a full-time assistant at the collegiate level, Cherry's teams have never finished with a losing record. He played an integral role in the success of the 2007-08 Hilltopper squad that captured the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, posting victories over Drake and San Diego before falling to top-seeded UCLA. Western Kentucky compiled a school-record 29 wins, finishing the season with an overall record of 29-7.

"Scott Cherry's pedigree for winning speaks for itself as both a player and a coach," South Carolina head coach Darrin Horn commented. "He is one of the top assistant coaches in the country and is ready to be a head coach right now. He brings a wealth of exprience in all areas of the game to our staff."

Prior to his stint at WKU, Cherry served as an assistant at George Mason for four seasons. Cherry's duties at GMU included recruiting, scheduling, coordinating the offense during practices and games, and working with the post players at practice. He also monitored the academic progress and strength and conditioning programs of the student-athletes and was head coach Jim Larranaga's recruiting coordinator.

GMU reached the 2006 NCAA Final Four during Cherry's tenure at the school, finishing the year with a 27-8 overall record, including a 15-3 mark to tie for the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season championship, while ranking eighth in the final ESPN/USA Today poll. The 11th seed in the Washington, D.C., region, the Patriots defeated Michigan State, third-seeded North Carolina, Wichita State and No. 1 seed Connecticut -- the second-ranked team in the country in the final regular-season polls -- before falling to eventual national champion Florida in the semifinals in Indianapolis.

The Patriots also advanced to postseason play in 2004, winning a pair of National Invitation Tournament contests en route to a 23-10 finish. Cherry also was on the Patriot staff from 1999-2002, helping the team to three straight first- or second-place finishes in the CAA standings as GMU recorded a 36-14 mark (.720 winning percentage) in league action during that stretch. In his seven years on Larranaga's staff, Cherry helped the school to a 140-79 (.639) overall record and a 82-40 (.672) CAA record. The Patriots also qualified for the 2001 NCAA Tournament and the 2002 NIT field while he was with the Fairfax, Va., institution.

In between stints at GMU, Cherry served one season as an assistant at Tennessee Tech, helping the Golden Eagles to a 20-12 mark as they advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game that year. Cherry was responsible for recruiting, scouting the opposition, monitoring the academic and strength and conditioning programs, and directing TTU's team and individual camps in his only year with the school.

Cherry began in the coaching profession as the head junior varsity and assistant varsity boys' basketball coach at Bishop McGuinness (N.C.) High School during the 1997-98 season, before spending the 1998-99 campaign as an assistant women's coach at Middle Tennessee.

A 1993 North Carolina graduate, Cherry lettered four years for the Tar Heels as they defeated Michigan and the "Fab Five" to win the national championship his senior season. In fact, his efforts helped the team advance to at least the Sweet 16 every year of his career, including a trip to the 1991 Final Four. UNC posted a 107-33 (.764) record during Cherry's time on the squad.

After graduating, he played professionally for one season with the AEL Basketball Club in Limassol, Cyprus. Cherry -- who is 37 and hails from Ballston Spa, N.Y. -- and his wife, Cortney, have one son, Brody (2).