Waffle House, ‘OKGs’, taking the stairs: Scott Cross on mindset at Georgia Tech

“When I first started out at Troy… the first guys that we brought by, we were driving by Waffle House, and they turned up their nose to it,” Cross said Monday at his introductory press conference at McCamish Pavilion. “And then my next group of guys… We drive by, and they’re like, ‘Coach, can we go to Waffle House?’”

To Cross, that’s the embodiment of “our kind of guys,” or “OKGs,” as Cross refers to the players he wants in his program.

More about OKGs: “Guys that are low-ego, that are selfless, that are team-first, that are coachable. I think that’s very, very important, because if you’re a great coach and you don’t have coachable guys, that means nothing. So, finding those guys that are coachable, and when you have that, I think that’s when the magic starts to happen.”

Atlanta, fortunately for Cross, is Waffle House-dense territory.

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

He faces a difficult challenge at Georgia Tech, aiming to revitalize a program that just finished 2-16 in the ACC, dead last in conference standings. But Cross, who in 19 seasons as a head coach at UT-Arlington and Troy has won seven conference championships and 350 games, calls himself a “builder of basketball teams” and doesn’t shy away from the task.

“My program and my vision for Georgia Tech basketball will be built on a culture of toughness, discipline, hard work, organization, accountability, player development, competing and not taking shortcuts,” Cross said. “We will be a blue-collar program. They’ll focus on doing all the little things right … My motto is taking the stairs. There are no shortcuts on a basketball court. There are no shortcuts in the classroom. Most importantly, there are no shortcuts in life.”

Georgia Tech AD Ryan Alpert praised Cross and his ability to thrive in the transfer era, pointing out Troy lost four starters to the transfer portal after winning the Sun Belt Conference and making the NCAA Tournament in the 2024-25 season. The Trojans bounced back to win the conference and make the tournament again this year.

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

“That’s exactly what we need here at Georgia Tech,” Alpert said. “We set out to find a leader who can reestablish Georgia Tech basketball at the top of the ACC and get us back to competing late into March, a leader who prioritizes accountability, embodies a winning culture, identifies and develops talent and establishes a championship standard.”

Cross said he is already working on establishing his staff and should have it in place shortly. He held a Zoom call with the team and said he wants players who want to be at Georgia Tech.

“That was my most important thing,” Cross said. “A few of them that have already reached out, we’ve had some conversations. Roster management is going to be an ongoing process. We’ll work hard to find the right fit, but again, it goes back to getting (OKGs) that are our kind of guys and about the right stuff, but we will work extremely hard to find those guys.”

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

Cross said he grew up watching famed former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins, who brought Tech basketball to the forefront in the ’80s and ’90s, and “Lethal Weapon 3,” the record-setting scoring trio of Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver that helped Tech to its first Final Four appearance in 1990.

To get the “Thrillerdome” rocking again, Cremins advised Cross to knock on the doors of fraternity houses, which Cross promised to do.

“We need to absolutely pack McCamish Pavilion and make it one of the most intimidating basketball college environments in all of the country,” Cross said. “It can be done. And I know it begins with me. It starts with me getting out on campus and engaging the students, and extends with … our loyal fans, boosters and alumni.”