Cross Got Silent Treatment, Then He Got Deadly

Must have been some brilliant coaching maneuver that Bobby Braswell used to bring out the best in Trenton Cross, who began the season as Cal State Northridge’s starting point guard but then struggled, lost his job and lost his confidence.

So what did Braswell and his staff do to revive Cross, who has averaged 23.5 points in his last six games and is the Big Sky Conference player of the week?

“We just started ignoring him,” Braswell said.

Did nothing, huh? Nice work if you can get it.

Braswell told his coaches: “We’ve all talked to him and encouraged him. Let’s just leave him alone. He has to step up and be a player and make plays and not be afraid to make mistakes.”

That might have been the key.

Cross began the season with expectations that his junior season would be his best at Northridge. In the first game, at Nevada Las Vegas, Northridge trailed by one point when Cross brought the ball and the Matadors upset hopes downcourt in the final 10 seconds. Instead of driving all the way to the basket, as he was supposed to do, Cross threw the ball out of bounds. The Matadors lost.

“It wasn’t the same Trenton Cross [after that game],” Braswell

said. “For whatever reason, he wasn’t very confident in himself. He wasn’t making good decisions on the floor.”

Cross didn’t blame his lost confidence on the UNLV game but on bruised ribs he suffered a week later.

The injury gave Braswell an opportunity to replace Cross in the starting lineup with Lucky Grundy. For the next 17 games.

“I wasn’t really playing my game,” said Cross, who came off the bench in every game Grundy started, averaging 17 minutes and 7.8 points. “I wasn’t doing good, but I wasn’t doing bad. I was just out there and pretty much going through the motions.

“Instead of just playing my game and relaxing and having fun, I was real tense most of the time, always worried about making a mistake.”

Cross, who scored 24 and 22 points in consecutive games before going back into the starting lineup four games ago, credits the turnaround to his teammates’ unwavering confidence in him.

In a game at Eastern Washington, the Eagles were making a run at the Matadors when teammate Kevin Taylor told Cross: “We need you to make something happen.”

Said Cross: “That felt real good to hear him say that.”

Northridge is 4-0 since Cross returned to the starting lineup.

As the Matadors (12-12, 8-6 in the Big Sky) head into tonight’s showdown with first-place Northern Arizona on the final weekend before the conference tournament, Cross is back in control of the team.

In Saturday night’s victory at Sacramento State, Cross had the ball in a situation nearly identical to the UNLV game.

This time he drove to the basket, twisting through a crowd for a layup that forced overtime.

“He had some skeletons in his closet from UNLV,” Braswell said. “I’m so happy for him.”