Supporting cast key for C.H. East

Chris Santo likely will finish his career with more than 2,500 points.

If he also finishes with a South Jersey title, it might be because of Jake Gurkin and Marc Schlessel.

John Valore will finish this season with around 550 career coaching victories.

If he also finishes what likely is his last season with his first sectional title, it might be because of Gurkin and Schlessel.

Not to put pressure on the two juniors or anything, but the program's best-ever player and all-time winningest coach are counting on them.

"Chris knows it's not all about him," Gurkin said of Santo after teaming with Schlessel to provide those vital second and third options in Cherry Hill East's 68-44 victory over Camden on Thursday in an Olympic Conference game.

The 6-foot-5 Santo is going to get his points. The Vermont signee went for 27 against Camden. He has 2,122, more than any player, boy or girl, in the history of the Cherry Hill school system.

But the Cougars are 9-3, with a seven-game winning streak and looming as a legitimate threat to win the program's first South Jersey title because of the development of The Other Guys.

Senior guards Sam Rose (four steals), Jesse Gold (three points, two assists), and Dan Melleby (four rebounds, two assists) are starting to give the Cougars some quality minutes after entering the season as inexperienced or injured.

But the key for Cherry Hill East, the No. 8 team in South Jersey in The Inquirer Top 10, is the pair of juniors in the starting lineup, the 6-foot-6 Gurkin and the 5-foot-10 Schlessel.

Gurkin filled the boxscore with 14 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals, despite sitting out the fourth quarter. Schlessel also scored 14, making four jumpers from three-point range.

"Those guys are so important," said Valore, who will retire from teaching after this school year and also could retire as head coach after 36 seasons. "When defenses spend so much of their attention on Chris, we can go inside or outside with those two guys."

Gurkin is versatile enough to score from inside or shoot from three-point range. His defense has been a big factor in the Cougars' recent run, as he had five blocks in a 58-53 victory over then-No. 2 Shawnee, another South Jersey Group 4 contender.

Schlessel is the team's best outside shooter. He hit three-pointers that broke ties with around three minutes to play in Saturday's victory over Shawnee and also in Tuesday's 58-52 victory over Eastern, another talented team that could be a factor in the Group 4 tournament.

"If I have an open 'three,' I have to hit it, especially late in a tight game," Schlessel said.

Neither athlete expected to play much as a sophomore. But Schlessel got minutes because Melleby sat out the season with a football injury, and Gurkin saw more time because of the transfer of Stacey Upshaw-Goree, who moved to Winslow Township. Upshaw-Goree is playing well for the Eagles, still another talented team that could make some noise in the Group 4 tournament.

Did we also mention No. 3 Lenape, Atlantic City, and Williamstown?

Cherry Hill East figures to be a factor in that wide-open field because Santo is Santo and Valore is Valore, but also because two talented juniors got some valuable time as sophomores and are playing like seasoned veterans.

There's an air of urgency around the program, with Santo finishing his remarkable career and Valore likely on his last lap, too. Even the guys who will be back next season sense it.

"Chris has been the best player in South Jersey for the last couple years, and he is again this year," Schlessel said. "But it can't be all him. The rest of us have to step up."