BIRMINGHAM – On April 6, head coach Andy Kennedy announced the addition of Philip Pearson, Ryan Cross and Sidney Ball to his men’s basketball staff. UABSports.com will provide fans with an introduction to these new Blazers, with today featuring Cross.
With over 20 years plus of coaching experience, Cross comes to the Magic City after serving the last eight seasons at the University of Louisiana Monroe
How excited are you to start coaching at UAB?
I’m very excited to join Andy Kennedy‘s staff. We have been good friends for a long time. I have a lot of respect for the history of the program and I am looking forward to helping AK restore the tradition of Blazer Basketball.
How did you cross paths with Coach Kennedy?
I first met Andy when he was Murry Bartow‘s assistant at UAB. They recruited some of my players when I was a junior college coach. They signed Will Campbell and who played for me at Chipola Junior College as well as Eric Bush and Predrag Materic who I coached at Barton County Community College. So UAB has had some guys that I recruited back in the day and that’s how I got to know Andy and we have remained good friends ever since.
You’ve been coaching ever since you graduated college, can you take us through your journey in athletics after graduation?
I started out at the junior college level, where I was very fortunate to become a head coach at Barton as at a young age and Chipola after that. Then I moved on to Louisiana Tech as an assistant. From there, I was a a high coach head coach for five years before getting back into Division I at ULM, where I was for the last eight years. I have a good mixture of coaching experience, with 11 years of being a D1 assistant.
You’ve coached at several different levels – how do the challenges differ?
The places where I have been a head coach did not have the support staff that you do at the Division I level. I always jokingly say, “When you are a JUCO coach, you are also the top assistant.” You have to wear a lot of hats at that level. One thing I am looking forward to at UAB is working with the tremendous staff and great people to put a good product on the floor.
What would you say is your coaching style and best attributes as a coach?
I am a players’ coach. I deal well with the players – on and off the court. The players that have played for me respect me and know that I care about them. I have a good feel for finding the right players for whatever university I am working for. The key is putting the right players in Blazer uniforms so we can have success.
2020-21 UAB men’s basketball season tickets are on sale now. Current basketball season ticket holders can click here to renew their seats for the upcoming season. Fans interested in purchasing new season tickets can do so starting as low as $100 with the Blaze’s Corner season ticket.
For questions regarding your 2020-21 UAB Basketball season ticket order, email the UAB Athletics Ticket Sales and Service team at tickets@uab.edu or call (205) 975-UAB1. Ticket representatives are working remotely at this time but can be contacted during normal business hours of 9:00 AM through 5:00 PM. Fans can also request more information on ticket options for the upcoming season here.
For more information on the UAB men’s basketball program, follow @UAB_MBB on Twitter and Instagram. Also be sure to follow @CoachAK13 on Twitter.
