Olare Oladipo takes charge as Cherokee wins SJ Group 4 title
The Cherokee senior scored 17 points in the Chiefs' 55-40 win over Millville.
Cherokee senior Olare Oladipo takes charge on offense and takes charges on defense. That combination was one of the reasons the second-seeded Chiefs earned the South Jersey Group 4 title Monday night with a 55-40 win over fourth-seeded Millville before a jam-packed crowd at Cherokee.
The 6-foot Oladipo scored 17 points and took two charges, raising his team-leading season-total to 38.
“He plays with so much intensity,” Cherokee coach Eric Cassidy said. “We call him the wounded warrior.”
Cherokee (23-8) earned the third sectional title in school history and the first since winning the state championship in 2010. The Chiefs will face Freehold Township in Wednesday’s state Group 4 semifinal at Egg Harbor Township.
This was a typical Cherokee win, which meant plenty of ball movement among the selfless players on this team.
It’s not a tall team, with 6-3 junior Gavin Gibson the tallest, but the Chiefs moved endlessly, hit the open man with precision and have a team that can drive and dish and also swish from beyond the arc.
Gibson scored 18 points, hitting three three-pointers. Damian Smith scored 10 points and Anthony DiCaro added eight.
Millville (23-7) received 10 points each from forward Little John Green and guard Rynell Lawrence, who ended his career with 1,651 points and is Millville’s all-time leading scorer.
Cherokee’s defense wouldn’t allow the Thunderbolts to drive to the basket effectively. As the score indicates, everything was hard for Millville.
The same was the case last year for Cherokee, when the Chiefs lost in the first round of the South Jersey tournament to Howell. “The day after that game, we started preparing for this moment,” Gibson said. “We used it as motivation.”
The Chiefs owned a 26-21 halftime lead and turned up the intensity on defense in the second half. Cherokee led by 42-33 after three quarters and went on a spurt to put the game away early in the fourth.
Besides being a selfless team, this is a position-less one. Ask Oladipo what position he plays, because it’s hard to tell since he is all over the court, and he replies, “Any. I will do anything to help the team.”
Spoken like a guy truly in charge.
Millville 10 11 12 7 – 40
Cherokee 13 13 16 13 – 55
M: Little John Green 10, Eddie Jamison 5, Romaine Rhett 5, Colby Etter 4, Aundrey Green 6, Rynell Lawrence 10.
C: Gavin Gibson 18, Olare Oladipo 17, Anthony DiCaro 8, Damiean Smith 10, Justin Kang 2.