April 9, 2008

University of South Carolina men’s basketball coach Darrin Horn has filled three positions on his coaching staff, it was announced today. Scott Cherry, Cypheus Bunton and Neill Berry, all of whom were on the staff at Western Kentucky, will join Horn in Columbia. Cherry and Bunton will serve as assistant coaches, while Berry’s role is still to be determined. The completion of the coaching staff will be announced at a later date.

“I’m very excited about this staff,” said Horn. “They have a great knowledge of our system and are outstanding with young people. While we will spend a lot of time recruiting the state of South Carolina, this staff has had success in recruiting the areas outside the state, like Georgia, Florida and North Carolina, where we need to have a strong presence. They will bring great energy, outstanding work ethic and a toughness that we need to compete every night in the Southeastern Conference.

“We still have one full-time slot available on the staff,” continued Horn. “Ideally, that will be filled by someone who has recruited at a high level. It would be a bonus if he has experience in the SEC. More importantly, I’m looking for the best person to fit with our staff and fill any other needs we may have. That person will share the vision for what we’re trying to accomplish, not only in the basketball program, but also in the athletics department as a whole.”

Scott Cherry spent one year on Horn’s staff at Western Kentucky after serving four seasons as an assistant coach at George Mason. In his nine years as a full-time assistant at the collegiate level, his teams have never finished with a losing record. His duties have 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 while serving as the recruiting coordinator for head coach Jim Larranaga at GMU. Cherry helped lead GMU to a 27-8 record and an NCAA Final Four appearance in 2006.

Cherry also served on the Patriots staff from 1999-2002, helping guide the team to three straight first- or second-place finishes in the Colonial Athletic Association standings. Between stints at George Mason, he served one season as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech and helped lead the Golden Eagles to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game.

A Ballston Spa, N.Y. native and a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Cherry lettered four years for the Tar Heels and was a senior on the 1993 NCAA Championship team. He also played professionally for one season in Cyprus. Cherry and his wife, Cortney, have one son, Brody.

Cypheus (pronounced SEE-fuss) Bunton was on the Hilltoppers’ staff for the past four seasons under Horn. In addition to his time at WKU, Bunton played professionally for nine seasons, including stints in the CBA, NBDL and in four countries oversees, before serving as the head coach of the Louisville Legends AAU 17-and-under team during the 2003-04 season.

A Louisville native and a 1995 WKU graduate, Bunton played two seasons for the Hilltoppers, helping them to a 46-17 record and a pair of NCAA Tournament berths. As a senior, he earned the E.A. Diddle Award, which is given to the WKU player who best displays leadership, character, loyalty, ability and love of fellow man.

Neill Berry spent each of the last three seasons on the staff at Western Kentucky, including the 2007-08 season as a full-time assistant coach.

A four-year letterwinner at Southeastern Louisiana, Berry helped the Lions advance to the NCAA Tournament with a 24-9 record as a senior. A native of Brandon, Miss., Berry earned his bachelor’s degree from SLU in 2003.