Scott Cross ready to take over at Troy, but has unfinished business at TCU

Scott Cross couldn’t have scripted a better scenario after being fired by UT-Arlington last year.

He landed on Jamie Dixon’s staff at TCU. He’s set to coach in the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden. And then he’s headed to his next head coaching job at Troy, returning to the Sun Belt Conference.

Cross had nothing but good things to say about Dixon and his time at TCU.

“The year here has been outstanding,” Cross said on Saturday. “I’ve had the opportunity to learn from coach, who is a future Hall of Famer. To have that time with him and see what he’s done has been absolutely amazing.

“To be in the semifinals of the NIT with seven guys ... the job that he’s done this year is probably as good of a job as I think I’ve seen anyone do this year.”

Cross felt it was important to remain on staff until the season is complete. Sure, he has plenty of work to do at Troy, but he’s fully invested in this year’s TCU team. He even did the scouting breakdown of Texas going into Tuesday’s semifinals matchup.

Cross is as hungry as anyone to win the NIT championship.

“It’s been a whirlwind. I haven’t had time to catch my breath at all,” Cross said. “I didn’t want to leave coach hanging. I did sign up to help him win a championship. I’m thankful that now we do have another opportunity to win a championship. I definitely wanted to finish what I started here.”

The feelings are mutual.

In just one season, Cross has made a significant impact on this year’s team.

“He’s a great coach,” junior guard Desmond Bane said. “I’m really proud and really happy for him and his family. They deserve it. He came here and brought an extra edge to our program.

“Great guy, great person. He’s going to be a great coach. Troy got a good one.”

Cross returns to a head coaching position after spending 12 seasons in the role at his alma mater, UT-Arlington. He is the all-time winningest coach in UTA history, compiling a 225-161 record.

Cross, who earned Southland Conference coach of the year honors in 2012 and Sun Belt coach of the year honors in 2017, led UTA to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008.

He was fired following a 21-13 record in the 2017-18 season, despite it marking the third consecutive 20-win season for the Mavericks. But Cross landed on his feet, courtesy of Dixon.

“It’s amazing how things work out,” Dixon said, smiling. “He’s got a big pay raise [at Troy] from where he was at at UTA. It’s just amazing how things work.”

Dixon likes how Cross has handled the situation, too, sticking with TCU until the end. Plus, it can’t hurt Cross or Troy when the TV announcers inevitably start talking about him becoming the next head coach during the NIT broadcasts.

“It’s always about the guy leaving. That’s always the big story,” Dixon said.

For Dixon, his coaching tree continues to grow. He saw assistant David Patrick take over at UC-Riverside last offseason, and now Cross.

Dixon likes that, of course.

“I tell assistants I want them to get head jobs,” Dixon said. “I take great pride in it. Again, we look for guys that want to be head coaches. We want the best -- guys that are goal driven.”

New assistant?

Dixon is already in the process of rebuilding his staff with Cross leaving, as well as Corey Barker, who was fired by the school after being linked in the FBI college basketball corruption case.

Dixon is expected to add Duane Broussard to his staff. Broussard, a native of Sugar Land, was an assistant at UCLA for the past six seasons.

TCU has yet to formally announce the Broussard hiring.