O.J. Cahoon to continue basketball career at Roanoke College

Published 7:25 pm Sunday, February 16, 2025

By Jason O. Boyd

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YEATESVILLE, N.C. — When she began her senior season, Northside High School’s Olivia Jane “O.J.” Cahoon had aspirations of taking her basketball talents to the college level.

Northside was coming off a 19-5 season where the Panthers advanced to the second round of the Class 1A state playoffs during Cahoon’s junior season. The Panthers lost leading scorer Mariah Jones and had to hope players like Cahoon could continue the program’s success this season.

She’s more than done that as her statistical numbers have improved and the Panthers are one of the top teams in the state, sporting a 22-1 overall, 10-0 in the Coastal Plains Conference at the end of the regular season. That’s just one reason she’s taking her talents to Roanoke College to play college basketball next season. On Tuesday, she was part of a ceremony to announce her college intentions.

“When she first came over here, that was one of our goals,” Northside coach Michelle Leathers said of Cahoon. “Go play on the next level. And seeing her grow has been extraordinary. You know, she put the time in during the week, on the weekends. So it’s been great for her to come and be a leader and step up to the plate.

“It’s just, I’m glad I’ve been here to see the growth.”

Cahoon, who averages 21.9 points, 3.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and shoots 52% from the floor, said her college search kicked into high gear while playing AAU basketball in Virginia after last season. Coaches saw her play and were impressed enough to start contacting her.

“Well, first off, I play AAU out of Virginia,” Cahoon said. “And we go to a lot of tournaments at these colleges. We played a tournament at Roanoke (College).

“I talked to the coaches, and we had a good conversation, and they wanted to stay in touch. And so we stayed in touch throughout the summer, went back for another tournament, and then I went up for a visit in October. And then we just … I really fell in love with it.”

Cahoon said the strong academics at the college is also what attracted her. She wants to major in criminal justice and believes the school can help her attain that goal also.

“And I really did see that their college did have a lot of what I wanted and what I want to do. And so that really persuaded me to go there.

“And as well as basketball, I heard that they were a great basketball school and that the coaches were great. All the players were great and fun. Just pretty much my basketball team out of college.”

This season’s team is 13-10 overall, 9-5 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The team has won seven straight, heading into the Feb. 19 games with Bridgewater College.

Cahoon said making the decision relieved a lot of stress from her senior season. There is still a lot of basketball to play and there are things like the prom, academics and graduation to worry about. She’ll also take part in the school’s track season when basketball is done.

But, hopefully, not for a while.

“She’s been putting in the work,” Leathers said. “Actually, she and I built a relationship. She’s been, since last year, trying to, you know, she’s been going to showcases. And people have been looking at her. And a couple of people have reached out to me.

“You know, I’m just super excited. And I know she’ll go there and she’ll do well.”

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