Brian Dutcher once regretted not recruiting Bear Cherry. Now he's an Aztec

Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry’s relationship with Brian Dutcher and the San Diego State basketball program came full circle in the offseason when he transferred from Sacramento State to Montezuma Mesa.

He was born in San Diego, spent some of his formative years here and has known Dutcher for several years, back to when he was an assistant to Steve Fisher and the Aztecs were recruiting his older brother, Taeshon.

The Aztecs didn’t recruit him out of high school, but they finally got him to Montezuma Mesa for his final season. He’s coming off a serious injury that cost him most of last season, but he's looking forward to helping the Aztecs get back to the NCAA Tournament after they missed it last year for the first time in six seasons.

Although Jeremiah is his given name, he prefers his nickname, “Bear.” When he was a child, his dad called him “Jer Bear.” He literally grew into a bear of a man at 6-foot-10, 270 pounds, which is why the Aztecs are looking for him to dominate in the middle.

How Bear Cherry's journey led him back to San Diego

Cherry was familiar with SDSU before he began his roundabout college career. His brother was the CIF San Diego Section Player of the Year in 2017. Although Bear started out at Steele Canyon in eastern San Diego County, he finished his prep career in Phoenix before enrolling at New Mexico Junior College.

He played a year at UNLV, a former league rival of the Aztecs, before moving on to Sacramento State. He suffered a serious leg injury in the sixth game last season at UCLA and missed the rest of the season.

Cherry said he’s friends with Shane Geschwind, SDSU’s director of player relations. They were texting and Geschwind asked Cherry what he was going to do.

“He didn’t know I got hurt, so I got my year back and as soon as I told him I got my year back, he said, ‘I’m calling Dutch right now,’ and after that, Dutch called me right away, and it worked out,” Cherry recalled.

Dutcher “was really stoked,” Cherry said. “He always talks about when I committed to UNLV out of Juco. I came back to San Diego for a month and a half before I went to summer workouts in Vegas. They had an open gym and some of their players were in here and I was just killing it and he was like, ‘Man, I regret not recruiting you.’ He always talks about it.”

Why Brian Dutcher has high expectations for Cherry

“Bear Cherry is a big man. And I mean, he's all of 6-10, 270 pounds,” Dutcher said. “But that being said, he's super athletic, super agile. My No. 1 concern with Bear is keeping him out of foul trouble. You know, we're working on that daily: how to defend without fouling and then getting on better balance in and around the basket. He's a good finisher around the basket. And so, Bear's everything I thought he would be. I've known Bear a long time. He is a hard worker. He is a really good person and I'm expecting really big things for Bear this season.”

Cherry opens up about his season-ending knee injury

Cherry was on his way to a big season last year, with averages of 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.3 blocks in 31.2 minutes per game for the Hornets. He had three double-doubles and narrowly missed getting two more.

But in the sixth game, against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, he suffered a season-ending injury.

“I tried to post up to get the ball and when I caught the ball I hadn’t landed yet, but when I put my foot down, Skyy Clark came to wall up, but he ran through my knee and my knee so my knee hyperextended and I got a really, really bad bone bruise and I strained ligaments in my knee,” Cherry said. “Bone bruises are just weird, so you have to kind of wait them out. So I had to wait a really long time and I couldn’t really put pressure on it. It was just very slow and a boring process, but it ended up working out.”

The Aztecs welcomed Cherry despite the fact he was coming off the injury.

“Really, just it being like a family culture, that was a real big thing for me,” Cherry said. “Them being willing to take me in after an injury was a big deal for me, for sure.”

The Aztecs make a rare visit to Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 29 in the first of a home-and-home deal with the Bruins, who make a return trip to Viejas Arena next season.

“It’s going to be really fun and I’m really excited,” Cherry said. “I definitely want to beat them, compete for sure, and pray I don’t get hurt again. That’s all it is.”

What's next for San Diego State

The Aztecs wrapped up exhibition play with a win over Long Beach State on Wednesday night and will open the regular season at home against Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday.

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