Montana junior guard Will Cherry is on pace to become in the Big Sky’s all-time leader in steals. His first, goal, however, is leading the Grizzlies back to the NCAA Tournament. The native of West Oakland was a key member of Montana’s 2010 Big Sky Championship team which lost to New Mexico in the NCAA Tournament. Cherry and the Grizzlies enter this year’s tournament as the No. 1 seed, host, and riding a 12-game winning streak. Cherry ranks among the Big Sky leaders in scoring, assists and steals. The Grizzlies take on No. 4 seed Eastern Washington in a semifinal game Tuesday at 8 p.m. The game can be seen live on Altitude and Big Sky TV. Cherry was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Sky. Before the championship, Cherry spoke with Big Sky Conference Intern Alyssa Askew. Let’s get to know Will Cherry.
Q: Why/when did you start playing basketball?
A: I started playing basketball when I was about 6-years old and it instantly became my favorite sport beating out football. I can’t really recall why I started playing basketball I guess you can say it was just one of those things that I fell in love with at first sight.
Q: You’ve made amazing strides in your 3-point and free-throw shooting from your freshman season. How much work has gone into that? Is there anyone else you credit with your improvement?
A: A tremendous amount of work has gone into improving my shooting on all levels. I made a huge decision to stay here in Montana and not go back home before school started and it paid big dividends in the end. I worked on the shooting gun everyday of the week and didn’t leave the gym until I made 500 or more jumpers and sometimes it took me two-and-a-half hours maybe three to get it done but so be it. I stayed in the gym all the time no matter what and then came along my new assistant coach Jonathan Meltzger-Jones who worked with me every day after practice to get my shot right. His exact words were, “Will do you wanna get better? Because if so I’ll help you get your jump shot right and you’ll elevate your game ten times what it is”. The answer I give was simply, yes” and we went from there, but the key was I couldn’t leave the gym from that moment forward every time we shot without a perfect swished shot.
Q: When you were young and living in West Oakland, did you ever play with or against Weber State’s Damian Lillard?
A: I didn’t play Dame until my junior year in high school after he transferred to a school in our conference from somewhere else. He had never beaten me in high school EVER and he didn’t until I got to college. It was a fun rivalry between our two schools but in the end my team was the one always coming out on top.
Q: What made you choose Montana?
A: I actually had no intentions on attending Montana and I had stereotyped it thinking it was a bunch of cowboys, with no city, no mall, and was in the middle of nowhere. My high school coach at the time convinced me of taking the visit and ten minutes on the freeway I saw that it wasn’t like anything that I had once thought it was. It was a nice college town and had a good college feel to it and I loved the atmosphere from the jump. The team was great, the football game days were crazy, the coaches were really nice, and last but not least the people here in Missoula were very friendly. I went home and within about a week or two my mother told me to pray on a decision and I chose Montana while we were on the freeway driving to school one morning.
Q: How have you adjusted to the weather in Missoula?
A: I would say I’ve done a pretty good job of adjusting to the weather in Montana. At first I came out here with my little California winter jackets and hats and found out quickly that it wasn’t going to fly here in Montana at all. My feet were frozen, ears felt like they were about to fall off, and my face hurt from all the cold wind. So the next day I bought me a nice big jacket, gloves, and hat to keep warm, now when I go home when people complain out the cold I just tell them that, “this is summer for me”.
Q: You are only a junior this year, but what are you plans in the real world once you’re done with school and basketball?
A: I really don’t know what I want to do after everything is said and done but I do know that I’ll have my degree to fall back on for sure. I have good connections with people when it comes to finding a job and what not so I think I’ll be o.k. in that department.
Q: What is something nobody knows about you? (Besides your love for Miley Cyrus)
I’m starting to like country music more and more now that I have been in Montana now for a number of years. I won’t listen to all of it but I do have an open mind about it now and my favorite song is “Barbecue Stain” by Tim McGraw
Q: Where is your favorite place to eat in Missoula?
A: I think my favorite place to eat in Missoula would have to be “Jaker’s” or “Johnny Carino’s” because they serve nice food and aren’t too expensive when going there.