PRESCOTT VALLEY — After spending eight years away from the game, Clint Cross decided it was time for a return to the sidelines.

That return comes as the next head coach for the Bradshaw Mountain boys basketball team. He replaces Cain Atkinson, who left the program for the Paradise Honors job in April.

Atkinson spent two years leading the Bears, his first producing a Grand Canyon region title and state semifinals appearance in 2022-23 during a season that saw the program win 24 games, including an 11-1 record in region play. Last year, Bradshaw Mountain qualified for the state playoffs, losing to Mesquite in the first round.

Now in 2024-25, Cross inherits a club that lost three seniors, including standout Mason Hunt, but return senior players like Mason Brambila, Jayden Blasczyk and Preston Ranniker.

The group has started 6-5 under their new coach, who was “thankful” for the opportunity to work in the summer with the boys after being hired in May.

“I was a little nervous, having been out of coaching for eight years. But it was a good opportunity to get my feet wet again. … It was a great opportunity to get to know them, figure out where our strengths and weaknesses are,” Cross said, adding that the players are adjusting to his style of basketball while still playing hard.

“We need to get better defensively. That’s one thing we’ve been trying to address through this six-week stretch of the season [to start],” Cross said. “Their strength as a group is when they play well together, passing the ball, sharing the ball. I feel like our best games are when everyone is involved offensively. We want to keep plugging away on that.”

New Bradshaw Mountain head coach Clint Cross speaks with his team after the first period Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Prescott Valley. The Bears have started 6-5 under their new coach, who was an All-State guard for Mayer before graduating in 1988 and playing at Eastern Arizona. Cross led Chino Valley to back-to-back state playoff appearances in 2008 and 2009. (Brian M. Bergner Jr./AzPreps365)

EARLY YEARS

Cross began his teaching and coaching career in the mid-1990s at Mayer, where he was a three-sport athlete and All-State basketball player before graduating in 1988. He went on to play for Eastern Arizona.

Bradshaw Mountain assistant coach Bill Lamb, who has served in that role for 17 years, played with Cross at Mayer and pointed to the football field as one of his favorite moments with his new boss, catching a game-winning touchdown pass against Fredonia.

“He was a good quarterback,” Lamb said with a smile.

Their relationship goes beyond the court, as the two have built houses off and on together for years since their playing days at Mayer and Eastern Arizona. Cross was the best man at Lamb’s wedding, and the pair can be seen regularly working the scorer’s table during state tournament basketball events in northern Arizona.

Lamb was planning on hanging up his coaching shoes after Atkinson left, but upon learning his lifelong friend was taking the Bears job, he was talked into staying on the staff.

“He’s a defensive-minded coach, he loves the kids, and we’re getting better. We don’t have a lot of depth, but we’ve come a long way since the first week,” Lamb said, adding that Cross continues to build good relationships with the players.

“They trust him, and he’s starting to trust them more. Overall, the relationships are better. The kids are buying in to his philosophy.”

CHINO VALLEY DAYS

After a brief stay in Mayer to begin his coaching career working with the legendary Roland Medina, Cross took an assistant job at Chino Valley and spent 13 years with the program, the last seven as head coach before leaving in June 2011.

When asked what one of his best memories were as a coach, Cross pointed to the 2008 and 2009 teams in Chino Valley when the group were 3A West region runners-up and went to the state playoffs, advancing to the quarterfinals each season before being eliminated.

“They were a great group of kids. They worked hard and represented the school well. I still talk to a lot of them this day,” Cross said.

But after both his parents got sick, Cross wanted to be closer to them, so he resigned at Chino Valley and took a teaching and coaching job at Mayer, his alma mater.

“[I wanted to help] my brothers out in taking care of them. That’s why I spent five years [in Mayer]. Then both of my parents ended up passing away. At the end of that five years, I felt I needed a break from [coaching]. I needed to recharge a little bit. That’s how I got into building houses [full time].”

WORKING WITH HIS HANDS

Like sports, construction work is in Cross’ blood, so after resigning at Mayer, he chose to join Lamb full time to get away from basketball and teaching.

“I’ve always done it [build houses], even when I was teaching at Chino [Valley], I spent a lot of my summers working for Bill Lamb building houses,” Cross said. “My brothers, and my father, were in construction. It’s always been a part of who I am, so it felt natural. Once I stepped away from teaching, I liked it. I like working with my hands.”

As the years went on, however, Cross began considering a return to coaching and after Atkinson left, the Bradshaw Mountain job became available.

“The main reason is, I missed making an impact with kids. I missed the competition. That relationship part of it that you form with players. I miss that, and I felt like I could still make an impact,” Cross said, adding he always loved to be around sports.

“I loved to compete. The next best thing to playing, I felt, was coaching. Coaching was that avenue. I’ve always enjoyed working with kids so that’s how I got into it.”

And despite a few rule changes like fouls, the shot clock, three referees on the court, year-round practice capability and other things, Cross believes the game is only slightly different, but “kids are kids.”

“In eight years, I do feel the game is a little different. Everybody is doing dribble-drive, everything is penetrate and kick for three-point shots. That’s been an adjustment,” Cross said. “To me, kids are kids. They are still the same as they were 30 years ago. It’s the reality of it.”

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.