Kenny Fred Chery (born January 24, 1992) is a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Petkim Spor Petkim Spor Kulübü, more commonly known as Socar Spor is a Turkish professional basketball club based in İzmir which currently competes in the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). The team was founded by Petkim in 2013 and got promoted to th ...

of the

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replac ...

(BSL). He competed with State Fair Community College and then Baylor at the collegiate level.

Early years

Chery was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

an parents in a household where Creole was spoken only, while he learned French in school. Growing up, Chery played hockey but gradually switched to basketball as he participated in basketball leagues as a teenager around Montreal. In the summertime he would annually visit his cousin Peter Jean-Baptiste in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

where he'd play

pick-up game In sports and video games, a pick-up game (also known as a ''scratch game'' or ''PUG'') is a game that has been spontaneously started by a group of players. Players are generally invited to show up beforehand, but unlike exhibition games there i ...

s at outdoor basketball courts against talented older players further developing his game early on. It was during these visits Chery began to learn to speak English as well.

High school career

Chery moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as a junior in high school on a scholarship to Archbishop Carroll High School, where he played against some of the best high school teams on the East Coast. Playing under Michael Adams, Chery received some Division I recruiting interest, but schools pulled their scholarships after it became apparent he would not be academically eligible. This was due to some Canadian courses not transferring, so Chery opted for junior college.

National tournament

In 2008, Chery participated in the Canadian U17 Boys National Championship where he received MVP honors leading Quebec to a gold medal after going undefeated (5-0), in a tournament where fellow Canadians (and now NBA players)

Cory Joseph Cory Ephram Joseph (born August 20, 1991) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the point guard position and is also the captain of the Canadian national team. ...

and

Kelly Olynyk Kelly Tyler Olynyk ( ; born April 19, 1991) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, where he earned NCAA All-American ho ...

participated in.

College career

Chery played two seasons at State Fair Community College in which he became regarded as one of the best junior college players in the country. As a sophomore, he posted 16.4 points and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from behind the arc to help lead the Roadrunners to a 20-10 record. He was named a National Junior College Athletic Association honorable mention all-America. In April 2013, he committed to Baylor, turning down offers from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

and

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. Chery missed some time in January 2014 with a

turf toe A metatarsophalangeal joint sprain is an injury to the connective tissue between the foot and a toe (at a metatarsophalangeal joint, one of the joints in the ball of the foot). When the big toe is involved, it is known as "turf toe". Causes Turf ...

injury. He had the sixth

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

in school history with 20 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a win against

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

on February 15. He averaged 11.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as a junior at Baylor. As a senior, Chery was named to the Second-team All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

. He averaged 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game as a senior.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, Chery signed with the Hungarian team

Alba Fehérvár Alba Fehérvár are a Hungarian professional basketball club based in Székesfehérvár that compete Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the premier division of basketball in Hungary. Founded as the successor of Székesfehérvári MDSE, they took the Hungarian ...

. He averaged 14.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in Hungary. On August 27, 2016 he signed with

CB Sevilla Real Betis Baloncesto S.A.D., simply known as Real Betis, is a professional basketball team based in Seville, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. It plays its home games at San Pablo. History Club Deportivo de Baloncesto Sevilla was foun ...

of the

liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. Chery averaged 9 points, 1.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game for the squad. The following season, he signed with

Gipuzkoa Basket Donosti Gipuzkoa Basket 2001 Saskibaloi Kirol Elkartea S.A.D., commonly known as Gipuzkoa Basket and as Acunsa GBC for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The team plays in the LEB Oro. ...

. He averaged 14 points per game. On August 4, 2018, Chery signed with

Boulazac Basket Dordogne Boulazac Basket Dordogne, also known as BBD or simply Boulazac, is a French professional basketball club, based in Boulazac. The team currently plays in the LNB Pro A currently named Jeep Elite for sponsoring reason, the first level of basketball ...

of the French

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. On July 3, 2019, he has signed with

Nanterre 92 Nanterre 92 is a professional basketball club from the city of Nanterre (a western suburb of Paris), France. The club plays in the top-tier level basketball league in France, the Pro A, since 2011. Founded in 2011 as JSF Nanterre, the club plays ...

of the

. Chery averaged 14 points and 3.5 assists per game. On June 27, 2020, Chery signed with

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

. On August 30, 2021, he has signed with the Russian team

Avtodor BC Avtodor (russian: БК «Автодор» Саратов), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the FIBA Europe Cup and in the VTB Uni ...

of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

. He left the team after the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. Cherry averaged 10.8 points, 5.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. On March 19, 2022, he signed with Herbalife Gran Canaria of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. On October 23, 2022, he has signed with

of the

(BSL).

References

External links

Baylor Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chery, Kenny 1992 births Living people Alba Fehérvár players Basketball players from Montreal Basket Brescia Leonessa players Baylor Bears men's basketball players Canadian expatriate basketball people in France Canadian expatriate basketball people in Hungary Canadian expatriate basketball people in Italy Canadian expatriate basketball people in Russia Canadian expatriate basketball people in Spain Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Canadian sportspeople of Haitian descent Gipuzkoa Basket players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Nanterre 92 players Petkim Spor players Point guards Real Betis Baloncesto players