The Troy Trojans enjoyed one of the best men’s basketball seasons in program history during the 2024-2025 season and on Tuesday, head coach Scott Cross sat down with The Messenger to discuss the past and the future. 

Cross’ Trojans won 23 games this season, the most since 2004, and also won a Sun Belt Championship for the first time since 2017. As a result, it was also the first time Troy made the NCAA Tournament since 2017. 

“I’ve mentioned before, you saw a glimpse of maybe this being something special starting with boot camp last year,” Cross remembered. “All throughout the year you could feel it, when you return that many guys you have a feeling you could be right there but it’s so competitive. You have a 14-team league and only one team gets to go (to the NCAA Tournament).

“You have to be playing your best basketball at the right time. We were fortunate we were able to do that this year. I do think we played our very, very best in the last five games of the conference and in the conference tournament. I thought we played really well, we played together and played tough and it was fun. It was surreal.”

For Cross, it had been 17 years since one of his teams made the NCAA Tournament, something he says he doesn’t take for granted.

“To have 17 years in between going to the NCAA Tournament, that’s way too long,” he said with a smile. “It definitely makes you appreciate it. I’ve gone through the struggles, we’ve gone through the struggles. There’ve been a lot of tough years where we felt like we had the very best team but just didn’t finish the job. You can really appreciate it now. Now, we’ve put it behind us and we’re hungry to go back and win another one and take it even further.”

In the age of the Transfer Portal, a successful Group of 5 team means transfers are a likely result. Troy managed to come into last season returning every contributor with eligibility remaining. After the NCAA Tournament, though, Troy lost five veterans, including three of the top scorers on the team. Those leaving included leaders like Myles and Marcus Rigsby, Jackson Fields and Sun Belt Player of the Year Tayton Conerway. Despite those losses, Troy still returns a number of veterans to its roster from the Sun Belt Champs. 

“I think we return nine guys on scholarship,” Cross said. “We did lose five guys from the rotation and five really good players, including three of our leading scorers, but to have nine guys on scholarship that were with your program is big. I don’t think there are many teams in the country that will have that many returning. I do have complete confidence in the guys that are returning and they’ve been extremely fun to coach. Leadership has been as good as I’ve been a part of.” 

Among those players Cross expects to be leaders is returning starter, and Dothan native, Thomas Dowd.

“Guys like Victor (Valdes) have stepped up with their communication and leadership,” Cross continued. “Kerrington Kiel is a phenomenal leader. (Cooper and Cobi Campbell) do a great job with that and Thomas Dowd is stepping into a leadership role. I think this group may be a group where you look at in the layup line and say, ‘I don’t know about that.’ But at the end of the day, I think they will be really skilled, tough and play together. I think we can surprise some people this year.” 

Troy also will have a number of new faces on the roster, including freshmen signees Tony Montgomery, Emmanuel Clarton and Javen Colbert. Troy has also added Texas Tech transfer Corbin Green.

“Emmanuel Clarton is a 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6-inch guy who will play the (small forward) or (power forward) for us and can really shoot the basketball and can be a good defender,” said Cross. “He’s a great kid and a great teammate and won a lot of games at Sumter Central. We’re excited about him. What I’ve seen from Tony and Javen in team camps, and watching them in the summer and during the year, has been really great. I think Tony can really score the basketball. I think he will remind you really closely of (former Trojan) Aameer Muhammad with his demeanor and the way he looks and plays.

“Javen is one of those guys that needs to put on weight and get a little stronger but he has such a quick release. He led the State of Texas in scoring, which is hard to do. I think they were (Class) 5A and that’s an amazing feat. To be able to score 30-plus points in high school is impressive. Both of those guys can help stretch the defense for us.”

Green is someone that Cross believes can especially help on defense.

“He’s a super talented kid and we’ve been very impressed with him,” Cross said of Green. “When he was at Air Force he was the leading shot-blocker in the Mountain West as a freshman. He’s super strong and built similar to (Rondale Jones) and can really block shots. I think he will be great in the way we rebound the basketball, too. He’s also a smart kid and knows how to play and is a great teammate.” 

Following the 2024-2025 season, Cross’ name became a hot topic among fanbases around the country, wondering if and where he could land outside of Troy. Cross, though, has quickly silenced that by signing a new, long-term contract extension with Troy University.

“I have a great boss and I’ve been on the other side of things where I had a boss who pretty much wanted someone else,” Cross said of re-signing with Troy. “It’s really hard to be successful and work in that environment. It’s the same thing with my boss’s boss, they’re two guys where I feel like I have it as good as anywhere in the country.”

“I am extremely excited and appreciative of Coach Cross’ continued leadership of our men’s basketball (program),” Troy Athletic Director Brent Jones told The Messenger. “Four consecutive 20-plus victories, two postseason appearances, a regular season Sun Belt Conference Championship, a Sun Belt Conference tournament Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament vs. Kentucky has been due to his incredible vision, hard work and dedication.”

Cross also said he’s happy in Troy and is not interested in starting over anywhere else.

“I love living a mile away (from campus) and love that we finally have turned the corner here,” he continued. “My mom always said, ‘Wherever you water the grass is going to be the greenest.’ So, I’ve always felt that way. We’re happy here.

“When you’re wanted and can be successful it means something, I’m not too interested in going to a place and having to do what we did here six years ago. I’ve gone through the nine and 11-win seasons. I’m not necessarily motivated by money. I don’t want to be miserable. I like the guys we have returning and I like the high school my boys are at. Tyler (Cross) has two more years before he graduates. It was just the right thing for my family. My bosses do the right things the way right, and when they do things the right way, you want to do things the right way.”

Cross is also looking to continue to push the Troy program even further in the coming years.

“Every year the bassline goal is 20 wins, a conference championship and to go to the NCAA Tournament,” he flatly said. “I don’t necessarily articulate some of these other goals all the time with the guys, but personally I would like to beat a ranked opponent here and would like to win the most games in the history of the program. We want to do something special like that. And making it to the Sweet 16 and winning games in the NCAA Tournament are goals.

“Those are lofty goals but just winning a championship isn’t an easy goal either. You have to be really good to win 20 games. I’d like to think that our guys train for that though. That’s the standard we need to meet and we want to continue to take steps forward and continue to progress the program.”