From youth to college, Barrett and Cross are still teammates playing hoops

Gavin Barrett and Livingston Cross are familiar with how one another plays basketball on the court. They've been playing for quite awhile together.

Yes, they've been playing for three years now at Penn College, but it goes longer than that.

Since High school? Yes, but more so than that.

Since AAU ball? Again yes, but keep going

Since middle school? Getting warmer.

Barrett and Cross have been playing basketball together since they were in fifth grade and have only continued to get better and better at each next step they've taken. It's a large part of what helps make Penn College's offense excel.

"Me and Liv have been playing basketball together since we were in third or fifth grade," Barrett said after Saturday's win against Gallaudet. "It's that chemistry that my other teammates can't replicate. We played high school together, AAU, middle school, all throughout the whole way. So it's great to have someone that knows what I'm thinking at all times."

As Barrett touched on, you can't coach that sort of chemistry and it doesn't just happen over night. So when Barrett has the ball at the top of the key, he knows what Cross is going to do next.

When Cross takes the ball up the court after a key rebound, he immediately knows what Barrett is thinking.

Throw in former teammate Ronn Flood Jr., who also was a Farmer standout in high school alongside Cross and Barrett, and it's a great chemistry on the court.

"Gavin's our leader and our floor general. … He's just able to find the guys in the right spots at the right times. It's fun coaching him because he's not just a scorer, he gets everyone involved out there and runs the offense," Penn College coach Geoff Hensley said. "Livingston cleans up the boards, finishes around the basket. It's a great duo between them with Livington and Gavin playing with each other's roles."

Barrett, Cross and Flood Jr. all went to Union High School together in New Jersey and ended up coming to Penn College together to play for Hensley.

In high school, Barrett was named a Union County Conference Player to watch his senior year as a guard. That trio also played in high school during the COVID-19 pandemic, when games -- and unfortunately entire seasons -- seemingly could be canceled or wiped out at any given's notice, making it even more difficult to get competition in and games played.

And due to COVID-19, that trio didn't get to experience a state tournament run together during the pandemic.

Cross and Barrett lead Penn College together this season in both points scored and points per game. Cross has 333 points through Saturday and averages 18.5 per game while Barrett has scored 290 with a 16.1 average. Cross has a team-high 9.8 rebounds per game average, the only player with more than 100 (177 total, 128 defensively). Barrett, meanwhile, has an impressive 141 assists dished out and a team-high 33 steals as he constantly is forcing pressure on the defensive end.

Flood Jr. has come on as a scoring threat as well in recent games. He averages 6.4 points per game and scored five in Penn College's 85-71 win against Gallaudet on Saturday.