2021-22 NJ High School Team Preview – Cherokee

As the high school season approaches, we’ll be taking closer looks at individual teams in the state to see what is going to make them click and what to look out for. With so many, the coverage will be divided amongst our PGH NJ writers, but we start out this looking at Cherokee, one of the better programs in South Jersey, but was de-throned by Paul VI in the spring. The Chiefs unfortunately lost a massive piece in forward [player_tooltip player_id="134612" first="Alexa" last="Therien"], who is continuing her basketball career at Boston University this fall. Therien was the backbone of the Chiefs, a fantastic scorer and stout defender, but with her now graduated out of the program, several new names will need to step up in her place. One name we’ll be watching is [player_tooltip player_id="319335" first="Katie" last="Fricker"], the team’s best perimeter shooter, and it showed when playing rival Paul VI as she was knocking down three-pointers left and right. She’s an incredibly impressive talent now going into her senior year at Cherokee, and we expect her to have a big season for the Chiefs. Fricker has quite the cast around her, but a name that will go under-the-radar this season is Brianna Wegner, who appeared in just four games, but has the ability to factor in big time as one of the lone returning centers in the program. We’ll have to see what she’ll be able to do on the court with more playing time, but someone who already has that and then some is junior [player_tooltip player_id="134757" first="Gabby" last="Recinto"], who is the team’s returning leading scorer going into the season. She’s going to be tasked to help fill the void that Therien has left and she’s more than capable of producing superstar-like numbers. Senior CJ Apistar is expected to step up in a big way this fall after a solid spring. She is one of three seniors on this season's roster for the Chiefs. With seniority comes a veteran presence that is key not only as a mentor, but someone who can set the table for others to succeed in a big way. Apistar will be competing for a starting spot and she'll need to be a key cog in this Cherokee machine. Junior forward Delaney Jackson also factors into the three-point shooting discussion, having nearly made one a game in the spring. Jackson averaged around 5.0 PPG as a sophomore, and now as a junior, her experience plays well into the roster. This program is only going to continue to rise, and even with the loss of a superstar, Cherokee has the firepower to challenge anyone for South Jersey supremacy. The key for this team will be consistency. The Olympic Conference is full of surprises and stiff competition, but in the American Division, it’s going to be extremely tough to take Cherokee off the crown. We’re coming at you with more high school previews as the season approaches, so stick with Prep Girls Hoops New Jersey for more.