Ben De La Cruz enters his first season as assistant men's basketball coach at his alma mater, Flagler College.
Prior to returning to Flagler, De La Cruz served one year (2009-10) as the assistant varsity coach at St. Augustine (Fla.) High School. He also spent the following year (2010-11) in Northern Ireland playing semi-pro basketball in the Irish SuperLeague. Playing for the Ulster Elks of Belfast, De La Cruz led the club to its first berth in the National Cup Semi-Final. He
finished the season averaging 22 points and 13 rebounds.
De La Cruz was a four-year starter for the Saints from 2005-09. He played in 109 games with 108 starts and averaged 11.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He ranks seventh all-time in scoring with 1,300 points and third in rebounds with 865. De La Cruz is 10th all-time in field goal percentage with a .538 percentage. He tops the school's all-time blocked shots list with 145. De La Cruz holds the record for most blocks in game, seven, which he did twice in his career. He earned Florida Sun Conference co-Freshman of the Year honors in 2005-06. De La Cruz also earned All-South Region second-team and All-Independent first-team honors in 2008-09.
