Dan Cross assists Michael White on first Gator Club stop
Tuesday, August 18, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
ORLANDO -- Dan Cross is one of the best basketball players in University of Florida history, twice helping lead the Gators to the NCAA Tournament, including as point guard for the program's first Final Four team.
But he missed lining up against Michael White by just one season.
Cross left UF following the '94-95 campaign, mere months before White showed up as a freshman point guard at Ole Miss for '95-96 season.
“But I remember him,” White said. “And I'm glad I missed him.”
They didn't miss each other Monday night in Orlando, where White, the successor to UF icon Billy Donovan, made his first booster stop when he spoke to a Central Florida Gator Club crowd of about 175 at the Citrus Bowl.
Cross, 43, settled in the Orlando area where he works as a life's skills mentor for former athletes and oversees an AAU program. He was invited to the Varsity Room to introduce the new UF coach.
“I'm sure we'll talk in a bit about the kind of players we're looking for,” White said. “Well, I'm looking for that, right there.”
He was pointing at Cross.
The Gator Great didn't need the shoutout from White to get in the new coach's corner. He already was there.
“Obviously, the expectations are very high and the pressure on him to live up to those expectations -- not just in this state, but around the country -- is probably a little unfair and unrealistic,” said Cross, the school's No. 15 all-time scorer with 1,451 points and two-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection for Coach Lon Kruger who averaged 16.7 points over his final two UF seasons. “But I also believe Coach White's expectations for his program exceed ours, which says something about him.”
White, who will speak at Lake County Gator Club Tuesday night and has stops at the Clay County and Palm Beach clubs next week, brushed over some opening remarks, running down his roster and providing an update of his first whirlwind three months in Gainesville. Players will begin trickling back to campus late this week, while UF's newest player -- forward Justin Leon, out of Conway, Ark., by way of Shawnee (Ill.) Community College -- reported over the weekend for orientation.
The squad's first full meeting will be Sunday night, with individual workouts and conditioning tipping off Monday, the same day classes begin.
No wasted time.
“We're really looking forward to getting this thing going,” White said.
During his 30-minute talk, White made it clear his UF teams will play fast, just like his Louisiana Tech teams that were among the nation's best in turnovers forced and 3-points attempted the last four years. The Gators will be pressing after every made basket, free throw or dead ball. At least that's the plan.
“Love hearing that and it's what players want to hear,” Cross said. “Now only is Coach White saying the right things, but he definitely has a system he believes in and he's going to implement that system.”
In 19 seasons, Donovan reached the NCAA Tournament 14 times -- nearly tripling the school's five all-time NCAA berths before he arrived -- to go with six SEC championships and four league tournament titles. That's a lot of tradition from where very little tradition existed.
And a lot to uphold.
“It's a mentality that you just have to have and believe in,” said Cross, who in 1991 arrived at traditionless UF and helped carve out the first nicks of historical success. “He's not just replacing the greatest coach at Florida, but one of the greatest ever, but it's a challenge he's embraced. I believe wholeheartedly that he's the right choice.”
