HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Cross Contributes To East’s Fast Start

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BLUFF CITY, Tenn. – Jordan Cross didn’t deny it.

Sullivan East boys basketball coach John Dyer had called Cross a “gym rat.”  And Cross embraced the words with a smile.

Cross definitely had the ‘gym’ part down – he scurried around Patriot Palace during practice on Wednesday, hoisting up long shots from the perimeter that arced high, sunk and swished, while fine-tuning a variety of dribble-and-drive penetration moves.

Cross, a 6-foot sophomore guard, also had the look: a small, tight build complimented by muscular arms and legs; short, dark hair; hungry eyes.

And when Dyer’s two-word description was mentioned to the Patriots’ young star, Cross took the words as they were intended: a compliment.

“I worked the whole summer,” Cross said, smiling.

Cross estimated he and Patriots teammates Koree Deeb and Jo Jo Johnson put up an average of 450 shots a day this summer inside the Palace.

Together, the trio challenged each other, hooped until they got tired, and then hooped some more.

And when Cross wasn’t working on his shooting form inside the Palace – attempting to establish a reliable outside jump shot to pair with his already-strong slashing moves in the paint – he was traveling the country, hitting cities in Florida, Indiana, Virginia and Arkansas, while playing for the Tennessee Travelers, a regional Amateur Athletic Union competitive team.

The extra work and long hours on the court say a lot about Cross, who leads East in scoring (15.8 points per game), assists (4.5) and steals (3.0) this season.

The round, orange ball that bounces seldom left Cross’ hands this summer. And Cross’ devotion to the game, its principles and his team drew praise from the Patriots.

“[Jordan] can’t get enough of [the gym],” Dyer said. “He works hard.”

Last season, Cross shot up from an unknown into one of the Big Nine Conference’s most promising young athletes.

As an unproven freshman, Cross initially came off the bench for a Patriots squad that started fast and finished strong during the 2007-08 campaign, posting a 21-10 (12-4 Big Nine)
record and earning third place in regular-season conference competition.

Cross’ play quickly progressed, however, and the light around his name soon began to shine brighter.

At first, Cross drew notice for his ability to blow by defenders and finish inside. Layups, fade-aways and reverse hooks were Cross’ game.

By midseason, the young freshman was able to provide East with a hidden scoring outlet. As opponents focused on shutting down then-senior Patriot Isaac Snapp – who finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer and moved on to play college ball for Emory & Henry – Cross was able to burn less-capable defenders off the dribble with ease.

Cross finished his initial run with East averaging 8 points and 3.5 assists – impressive numbers for a freshman in the highly competitive Big Nine.

And a safe, easy summer could have been Cross’ for the taking.

He knew he was talented. He knew he had game. And he knew that Patriots fans and Big Nine followers were beginning to surround his name with expectations and potential-filled words of promise.

Cross’ response?

He hit the gym. He challenged himself. And the young slasher worked to become something new: a shooter.

“I’d say that’s [Jordan’s] go-to move [now] is probably the jump shot,” said Deeb, a senior guard who is averaging 13.5 points, 3.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds for the Patriots this season. “He had a floater last year that helped him a lot in the lane. But this year, his jump shot’s got him started in most of the games. … His jump shot usually gets us going pretty good.”

Now, Cross has evolved from a young player who once relied on pure speed for advantage into a dynamic, shoot-first talent who can stop and pop with the best in the region.

And he’s been the key component in East’s (5-1, 1-0 Big Nine) strong early surge this year, one that sees the Patriots take on Tennessee High (4-3, 1-0) at 8 tonight in a Big Nine matchup at Viking Hall.

“We’re off to a great start,”  Dyer said. “We’re excited about our guys. We had a good summer and we got better and the kids worked hard.
“But we’ve got a long ways to go and we’ve got to improve every day. We can’t feel like we’ve arrived. The moment we feel like we’ve arrived, we’re going to be in trouble.”­

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