Herrick to Assist at Canyons

Just four months after resigning as coach at Cleveland High and swearing off basketball, Greg Herrick has resurfaced.

Herrick, who won two City 3-A titles and four league titles in his six years at Cleveland, will serve as an assistant basketball coach at College of the Canyons this season.

“I don’t know if I could have adjusted to watching reruns of Mary Tyler Moore or Bob Newhart or the ‘Phil Donahue Show’ in the afternoons,” said Herrick, explaining his return to the sidelines. “I’m excited about it.”

Herrick, 32, said he did not want anything to do with basketball for a month after he left Cleveland.

But after discussing the situation with his wife, he said, he realized that “a coach is a coach is a coach.”

Toward the end of July, Herrick met with Canyons Coach Lee Smelser and expressed interest becoming an assistant.

In addition to helping out at Canyons, Herrick will continue to teach social studies at Bowman High, a continuation school in Canyon Country.

The situation is ideal for Herrick.

“Bowman is 10 minutes from the college,” Herrick said, “and the college is five minutes from my house in Valencia.”

Herrick’s record was 98-42 in his six years at Cleveland. Last season, the Cavaliers went 22-2, losing in the second round of the City 4-A playoffs.

Herrick resigned after the season, saying that he had accomplished his goals and needed to move on. He said he was a finalist this spring for assistant coaching jobs at Loyola Marymount University and St. Mary’s College, but did not receive either position.

Frustration at not quickly finding a college job brought about his desire to be away from the game. But the spark has now returned.

“It’s a good feeling to be back in the gym,” he said.