Holly Springs native wins state title

Charleston High School assistant coach Rasheed DeBerry, a native of Holly Springs and a graduate of Holly Springs High School, helped coach the Tigers to a 2A State Championship. The Tigers defeated Heidelberg High School to capture the championship.

The Tigers finished the season 14-2 and look to repeat as they continue to build their successful program.

“Coming from Holly Springs as a former High School football player and watching some of my classmates play the greatest basketball ever played and hoist up those gold basketballs (trophies), it motivates us on the field,” said DeBerry. “It drove me as a coach because I saw greatness up close from those teams. And now I have one. It feels amazing.”

DeBerry talked about how hard the process was in building their magical season.

“It took a lot of dedication, hard work and believing,” he said. “Perseverance. We’ve been through so much going back to COVID. We did not have a season in 2020. We lost North Half in 2021 and the state championship last year in 2022. This coaching staff, this team is so resilient.

“We have a great leader in head coach Ladon Taylor. He demands greatness. Our guys bought in to working hard to get better and go farther after the bitter sweet endings that we had to endure the past couple years.”

DeBerry has plans to become a head coach in the future.

“I do have plans of being a head coach one day. I’m not going to necessarily put a time limit on it because I believe in trusting the process and making the right move and not necessarily the first move.

“I have so many great influences,” DeBerry said.

Holly Springs High School, Coach Clifford Brown was the first coach to hand DeBerry a defensive playbook.

“I still have mine to this day. He was the first coach I saw bring a certain level of preparation to the game before the game,” he said.

DeBerry mentions several coaches who instilled greatness.

“Coach Clark instilled a toughness in us at a young age that I still uphold with my players today. Coach Donald Deans gave me my first defensive coordinator position and coach Scott Martin accepted me onto the staff at Charleston. Coach Ladon Taylor held me to such a high standard which I appreciate so much,” he said.