Community mourns loss of Alex Sherrill

“I would like to thank God, my family and my friends for helping me along the way,” said Sherrill. “It has been a long tough road, but they always had my back through it all — and that is deeper than
basketball.”
– Alex Sherrill, May 2020

By CINDY CROSBY
cindyc4@yahoo.com

As the local sports editor, I have been extremely blessed to watch a lot of kids in our community grow-up playing the sport they love. I have watched young athletes start in the recreational leagues and finish with high school careers they can be proud of. I am always proud to see an athlete excel in the classroom and on the field. When their dedication and work ethic combine with talent to earn them a spot on any collegiate roster, I love showcasing that for our community. Alex Sherrill was all the above — he was the complete package.
I loved watching him on the court. He made the game exciting because he could shoot (I know he is smiling at that!) and he had this intrinsic motivation to lead by example. He was always polite and thanked me for attending his games. Last spring, we talked several times about his looming decision on where he would attend college and play basketball. He knew his heart.
I am greatly saddened that I will not have the opportunity to see him play and cover his career at Salk. I will miss him. I do not know, nor does anyone likely know, if the outcome would have been different had he been wearing his seatbelt — but too many lives have recently been lost when not wearing one. Wear your seatbelt. I want to write stories about each of you. Throw up some 3’s in heaven, Alex.

The community is mourning the loss of 19-year-old Alex Sherrill who passed Tuesday Jan. 12 from injuries sustained in a tragic car accident Friday afternoon in the 4300 block of Jefferies Boulevard.
Sherrill was a 2020 graduate of Colleton County High School where he was a stand-out shooting guard for the Cougars while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Sherrill, who played basketball since he was five, was a two-year varsity letterman for the Cougars and spent one season on junior varsity. In his senior season, he helped lead the Cougars to round two of the SCHSL AAAA State Playoffs, averaging 21 points per game. He was named Region VII-AAAA Player of the Year, in addition to earning All-State recognition. While at CCHS, he also participated in football and track and field.
In the spring of 2020, Sherrill inked a basketball scholarship to attend St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina. After a brief time in North Carolina, Sherrill returned home to be near his family, enrolling at USC-Salkehatchie and redshirting for the Indians.

The Sherrills’ story continued in late May as Alex’s mother, Susan Sherrill, was able to make both her and his dreams come true. Susan Sherrill was determined to stand for Alex’s graduation. Sounds simple, right? Except it was not.
Susan Sherrill was in a serious auto accident in 2016 that left her confined to a wheelchair. Told she would never walk again, Sherrill refused to give up and made it her personal goal to not only continue to attend her children’s sporting events, but to stand for her oldest son’s graduation. As the years passed, despite setbacks along the way, her goal evolved into walking to Alex on his graduation day.
Despite Covid-19, and with much determination, Susan stood and walked across the room to Alex — where he stood proudly wearing his cap and gown and waiting with open arms.
Sadly, tragedy struck the Sherrill household in December when Alex’s father, Anthony, died suddenly, leaving the family heartbroken.
It is hard when a small community watches one family devastated by multiple tragic events in such a short time. But there is no doubt, Alex walked into the loving and eagerly awaiting arms of his father Tuesday.
Without doubt, the Sherrill family has suffered much across the past several years with Susan’s accident, the death of Anthony and now the loss of Alex. A GoFundMe (All for Alex Sherrill) has been established to support the cost of Alex’s medical expenses while in ICU and to help cover the cost of his funeral. To donate to this worthy cause visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/all-for-alex-sherrill?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer.

“I am very blessed to have been able to Coach Alex Sherrill. His accomplishments on the basketball court can speak for themselves. He was on the 2020 SCHSL AAAA All-State Team, was the 2020 Region VII-AAAA Player of the Year. He won two Region VII Championships and finished his senior year averaging 21 ppg. He was a great team guy, always smiling, always joking around with the guys. Some of my favorite memories with him were the locker room celebrations, listening to him joke with and about his teammates, and the conversation we had together after his last game in high school. Alex was going to be successful at whatever he chose to do with his life because of personality, intelligence, and work ethic. He was more than a basketball player; he was great young man. We will do this best we can to honor Alex every time we step on the court for a practice or a game.”
– Coach Matthew Mullins, head basketball coach at Colleton County High School

“Our hearts break, and our team will never be the same, as we mourn the passing of Alex Sherrill. It was an honor and pleasure to know and coach Alex. He was an amazing human, who was the definition of selfless. He always put others above himself. His smile was contagious and his passion for basketball could not be contained. He was committed to taking the stairs — he never looked for any shortcuts or took the easy way out. There is no doubt in my mind he had a successful and prosperous future ahead of him. Our program is currently discussing numerous ideas that will allow his legacy to live on forever here at USC Salk. Our hearts and prayers are with his family during this time.”
– Coach Glen Mayo, head men’s basketball coach at USC-Salkehatchie