The Hillsdale College men's basketball team found the perfect balance of youth and experience in its search for a new assistant coach this offseason.
John Cheng, hired in June, brings both the youthful energy of a coach just a few years removed from his own collegiate playing days, and adds to it a track record of proven success as a collegiate assistant.
He joins the staff to replace Eric Weiss, who departed in June to pursue other career opportunities. He'll team with head coach John Tharp and returning assistant head coach Keven Bradley to complete the Charger men's basketball coaching staff for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
"It's a tremendous opportunity to coach at Hillsdale, just given the history of success this program has had and particularly the job that Coach Tharp has done in his tenure here," Cheng said. "My experience as a player and coach at the Division III level has taught me how important strong relationships are to the success of a program, and I've seen that play out at multiple places.
"Seeing what Coach Tharp has built at the Division II level, it's clear he really values relationships in the same way, and I'm excited to get to learn from him and to work hard to be a part of the continued success of this program."
Cheng arrives on the Hillsdale College campus after an impressive two-year stint as an assistant coach at Elmhurst University in Elmhurst, Illinois. During Cheng's time with the Bluejays, he helped the Elmhurst's men's basketball team to its best season in program history in 2021-22. With Cheng assisting, the Bluejays went 27-7, won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament title, and reached the Final Four of the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program history, making it to the title game and finishing as the 2022 national runner-up.
In his role at Elmhurst, Cheng was the program's main coordinator for logistics and academic support, and also played an important role in scouting and recruiting for the Bluejays. He also coached guard Jake Rhode, a two-time NCAA DIII All-American, while at Elmhurst.
Before his time at Elmhurst, Cheng was an assistant at the University of Chicago from 2018 to 2020, where he helped the Maroons to a 27-23 record and .500 or better marks in University Athletic Association play in both campaigns. He also worked with the Breakaway Basketball AAU organization as a trainer and coach from 2017-2019, helping run the program's year-round training regimen and coaching one of Breakaway Basketball's travel teams in the spring and summer seasons.
Cheng became a coach after a four-year collegiate career at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. In 2015-16, his senior season, Cheng was a team captain on a Big Red squad that posted a winning record for the first time in over a decade and ended a 19-year NCAA Division III tournament drought with the program's third-ever tourney berth.
"One thing I've really learned from my background as a player and coach is that being great at this level is a year-round process," Cheng said. "It's 365 days a year of staying focused and committed, and often the most impactful work happens when you're out of season.
"I've been lucky to learn from a lot of great coaches and be a part of strong programs to get to this point, and I'm grateful to get the opportunity to be a part of that again at Hillsdale."
At Hillsdale, Cheng joins a program coming off a historic season of its own, after winning the program's first NCAA DII regional title and reaching the Elite Eight round of the NCAA DII Tournament in 2021-22. With three starters back, as well as G-MAC Freshman of the Year Joe Reuter, the Chargers will look to remain in the hunt for conference and regional titles this winter.
A native of Elmhurst, Illinois, Cheng came to Denison from Immaculate Conception Catholic Prep School in Elmhurst, where he helped lead the Knights to a 24-4 record as a senior in 2011-12.
Cheng graduated from Denison University with a Bachelor's of Arts in Economics in 2016, and received his Master's degree in Business Administration from Elmhurst University in May of 2022 while coaching the Bluejays.