Cross Schools tab decorated coach to lead hoops program, athletic department

Decorated high school coach Brandon Clifford has been hired as the new boys basketball coach and athletic director of Cross Schools in Bluffton.

Cross Schools was started in 1998 and is preschool through eighth grade and will have its first ninth grade class in 2020 with the addition of a full high school to follow.

“I was impressed from the moment I stepped onto campus. Beautiful facilities, engaging staff members, and a true sense that Cross really cares about their students,” Clifford said in a school release. “Seeing the passion the staff has for Cross, its students, and their vision for the future, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of too. T

“The idea of building an athletic program from essentially the ground up at the high school level is really exciting for me at this stage of my career and I can’t wait to get started.”

Clifford has won 226 games during his 10-year coaching career which included stops at Freedom Christian and High Point Christian Academy in North Carolina and Grace Christian in Tennessee. He led Freedom Christian to a 22-12 record and trip to state semifinals last year.

The North Carolina native was at High Point for seven years where he coached current NBA player Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat. High Point was ranked as high as No. 8 in the USA Today High School Basketball poll. More than 30 of Clifford’s players have gone one to play in college or professionally.

Clifford also worked with the Dallas Mavericks for one season in player development for one yea before returning to high school coaching.