Ken F. Cross(center) posing for a picture with his former players.
Alex Brooks
Bladen Journal
BLADENBORO — West Bladen High School named their gym after former basketball coach Ken F. Cross with a ceremony on Sunday evening. Cross put in years of service to the Bladen County area and he coached the West Bladen Knights to their only state title back in 2008. He’s coached across three different states with over 650 wins in a 50 year career but he made his biggest impact here in Bladen County. “I wouldn’t trade Bladen County for New York, I love Bladen,” said Cross during his address to the crowd.
Cross spent 10 years as West Bladen head coach and he accumulated over 202 wins with the program. His former students, players, and colleagues took the time to mention how much Cross meant to them during the ceremony. The consistent theme of each speech given by the people he impacted throughout his time at West Bladen was his desire for success, togetherness, and having the heart to win.
Cross was known for the motivation he provided to his players before and after games through his way with words. Cross’ loved using sayings to motivate his team like “togetherness equals success” or the occasional comical remarks of “you can bounce the ball off your head but if you score, I don’t care.” He approached the game with an old school style of coaching and he instilled discipline into his teams.
Cross believed in the togetherness of team over self and it reflected from the practice court to the games. “You see the trophies, you see the banners, but what you don’t see is that,” said his former player Rodd Baxley during his speech at the podium describing Cross’ impact off the floor. As a basketball coach, Cross expected peak fitness from his team because he knew what was required to win games when things got tight towards the fourth quarter. “We’d always find a way to battle through whether the other team was grabbing our jerseys or pulling on our shorts because we had Coach Cross pulling on us,” said Baxeley in a sarcastic tone while explaining what his former coach demanded from them during games.
Cross feels the only way to get better at something is going through tough times and he embraced different challenges during his 50 years of coaching. The man of the hour took to the podium to address the crowd on what the honor meant to him. “I hope I made life enjoyable for you because you guys made life enjoyable for me,” said Cross. “God, Family, and Basketball has been my life.” His former players presented him with a plaque and they posed for pictures with him under the lettering of “Ken F. Cross Gymnasium.”
The former coach achieved so much on the court but humbly described the impact that others had on him during speech. He attributes much of his success in his faith in God and the people that surrounded him during his time as a coach. “It was a real surprise and quite an honor,” said Cross when describing what it meant to be immortalized. “I loved all my players from Tar Heel to West Bladen.”
Cross says he misses being out on the floor coaching but he’s proud of what he’s accomplished and takes pride in having a positive impact in people’s lives. “As we name this gym, we not only commemorate his outstanding coaching career but also his impact on our lives,” said his former player Wayne McDonald in the opening remarks of the ceremony. West Bladen will play their first game inside the newly named gym on November 11th against South Brunswick.