Favorite Son

Trenton Cross’ teammates at Reseda High used to rib him about his close relationship with Regent basketball Coach Jeff Halpern, calling him “the coach’s son.”

Once Cross came to Cal State Northridge, where he played for two years and developed a similar bond with Pete Cassidy, the title remained.

Now that Bobby Braswell has taken over the Northridge program, does Cross have a new “Dad”?

Not yet, Cross says. You can tell it’s building, though.

“When [Braswell] talks to the team he’s always talking about life, giving a lot of different perspectives,” Cross said. “There’s a lot of times Braswell says stuff and I leave practice thinking, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.”

Braswell, who thinks of all his players as his children anyway, would probably be happy to have Cross as a son. And he’s certainly happy to have the junior as a point guard.

Talk to Cross and he says what every mom, dad or coach wants to hear. He talks softly about how his parents guided him toward all the right choices in life, about the determination it takes for a 5-foot-11 guy to make it in Division I basketball, and about how he still has so much more to learn about life and basketball.

You can tell he’s trying to soak in as much as possible at one of Braswell’s practices, which seem more like lectures on basketball with a little running in between. Cross raises his hand to ask a question, and his eyes fixate on Braswell as the coach explains.

“I’m just staring right at his face and trying to picture what he’s talking about,” Cross said. “I’m thinking I want to get this right. I don’t want to mess up.”

Can’t have that. Cross is the integral piece to Braswell’s ultra-aggressive new system, installed in an effort to bring Northridge out of its six-season slump.

“If he’s not functioning,” said teammate Walter Jefferson, “the team just lags.”

Cross is primed for what he and others expect to be his best year at Northridge. When the Matadors begin the season Saturday night at Nevada Las Vegas, Cross will have none of the freshman uneasiness he had two years ago or the aches and pains from a car accident he had last year.

Northridge assistant Mike Johnson, the only member of the coaching staff who has been around for Cross’ first two years, is expecting a breakthrough season.

“I thought as a freshman he was a promising player, but his injuries last summer really caused him to never get into shape or playing form, and I don’t think he had a really great sophomore season,” Johnson said. “He’s going to benefit from [Braswell’s] system. He will have a little freedom and he’s going to be expected to do a lot more.”

Though Braswell has only seen Cross in practices and exhibition games, he’s been impressed.

“I think he could probably be a very good Pac-10 basketball player,” said Braswell, who spent the last four seasons as Oregon’s top assistant. “I think he gives us good leadership. He can score. He passes the ball well and he defends. . .

“I think he’s got the kind of attitude and character that you can build around.”

It’s no surprise that Cross’ character earns such reviews. You would expect nothing less from a kid who grew up splitting time between a strict mother and a father who seemed to have a moral for every story.

To this day, the catch phrases from his father still knock around in Cross’ head. He rattles them off at the drop of a hat.

“Some people are destined for success, but most people have to work hard to get it.”

“The slow way is the sure way.”

“Right always stands up by itself.”

While Cross has always had a good relationship with his father, Rafer Love, he spent most of his youth living in Baldwin Hills with his mother, Shyron Martinez. Martinez kept Cross on a 10 p.m. curfew, kept his nose in his books and kept an eye on his friends.

“Some of the people I hung around, my mom would tell me, ‘I don’t want you to hang around those people anymore,’ ” Cross said. “When I was younger, I couldn’t understand why. But as I got older, I started to understand, because they would end up in jail or doing bad things.”

Basketball also kept Cross out of trouble. Cross had gotten hooked on the sport as a kid, watching Magic Johnson on TV, then running out to the park to try to replicate his moves.

When Cross got to Portola Middle School in Tarzana--he was bused--he was hesitant to try out for the basketball team because he thought he was too small. But a teacher convinced him to give it a shot, and he made the team.

And this was no ordinary team.

Cross played with Jacque Vaughn, now an All-American at Kansas, and Marquis Burns, who played at UCLA. (In case you were wondering, Vaughn was the point guard.)

“We didn’t lose any games,” Cross said, referring to three seasons, not just one.

At Reseda, Cross was again hesitant to try out for the basketball team because of his size. But he did, and he made the team again. He hasn’t worried about being 5-11 since.

As the seasons passed and the all-City, all-Valley and all-conference honors rolled in, so did the recruiting letters.

“I was shocked,” Cross said. “I got letters from UCLA, Pepperdine, Cincinnati, a lot of different schools. When I got the letter from Northridge, I just kind of laughed. It was like, ‘I have UCLA in this hand, Northridge in this hand.’ I told my mom, jokingly, I would never go to Northridge. I thought I’ll probably go to UCLA or something like that. My mom said, ‘Well you never want to knock the little guy, because you might end up there.’ ”

Mom was right.

When it came time for schools to offer recruiting visits, only Northridge, Pepperdine and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo were left.

Cross signed with Northridge because he saw in Cassidy what he had liked about Halpern: a coach he could turn to for anything. In addition to getting another son, Cassidy got what turned out to be his best high school recruit as a Division I coach.

Last season, Cross started every game, logging a team-high average of 30 minutes. Although multiple injuries he suffered in a car accident the previous summer kept him from playing his best, Cross still averaged 9.3 points and 3.7 assists. He scored in double figures in eight of his last 10 games.

Northridge coaches are hoping Cross can carry his late-season surge into this season.

“Now I feel 100%,” Cross said.

I’ve improved my defense and my offense. It’s not where I want it to be and I still need a lot of work in both areas, but I’ve improved.

“And I credit that to [Braswell].”