January 31, 2003 Athletics
Story
Ronnie
Ross Keeps Making Adjustments
Utah State basketball player finds himself in changing roles
Things change. For Utah State basketball player Ronnie Ross,
things change quite often. His residence, his role on a basketball
team, the expectations placed on him have all been in a state
of flux since he graduated from high school. One thing has remained
constant, however -- his ability to handle the changes.
Ross has spent his basketball career changing schools and changing
positions. He went to John Wood Junior College in Illinois and
was a shooting guard, who was supposed to shoot the ball. He
shot the ball so many times and so well that he became the school's
all-time leading scorer with 1,249 points in two years.
"He was a two-guard in junior college and was required
to score a lot of points," said USU assistant coach Tim
Duryea. "That was his main focus. For his team to win,
he had to score a lot of points."
When he came to Utah State, he was switched to point guard
and found himself in a completely different role. A lot was
asked of Ross and a lot of it was unfamiliar.
"When he came here, he had to do a complete transformation.
He did a great job of learning how to play point guard and making
sure we were in the right defense, making sure that we were
running the right play and making sure people were where they
were supposed to be," said USU assistant coach Tim Duryea.
"He had to run the team and scoring was secondary."
Running Stew Morrill's offensive system is not easy, but Ross
adjusted and averaged 7.1 points while handing out 95 assists
last season. He started 30 of 31 games at point guard and was
fourth in the Big West Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio
at 1.73-1.00.
This season, he was switched to his more natural role of shooting
guard, but after a full season at the point, it has been a challenge
to move back mentally. He also still plays the point guard position
at times.
"I am playing the one and the two and it is confusing
because I have to learn everything twice," Ross said about
playing two positions. "Coach is a guy who adds all kinds
of stuff into the offense, and you have to be a smart person
to go through this."
After missing the first two games of the season due to violating
an unspecified team rule, Ross has also had to adjust to a new
role - coming off the bench.
"After I was sent to the bench I felt like 'where else
could I go from here?,' so when I come into the game, I feel
more free," he explained. "I am out there just playing
and not worrying so much. When I don't worry, I shoot better."
Ross must not have had too much on his mind Thursday as he
was moved into a starting role against Cal Poly and responded
by hitting each of his three three-point attempts in the first
four minutes of the game. He finished the game with 12 points
in just 24 minutes of play.
"Being a two-guard in this system opens you up a little
bit," Ross said. "The point runs the team and gets
everybody else shots. When you play the two in this system,
you can look for your shots so it has helped me out a little."
Someone who has helped him outside of basketball is his stepfather.
He tried to make Ronnie grow up fast. Ross lived in Houston,
Texas until junior high when he moved to Louisiana. When he
went to junior college in Illinois he was only 17 years old.
"My stepdad dropped me off," Ross said of his first
day at junior college. "We drove up and we were putting
things in the house and when I came out, he had just left me.
I asked my coach if my dad had gone to the store or something,
and he said he was going back home. My dad said the reason for
that was to make me grow up quick."
Left all alone in a state miles away from his family and friends
forced Ross to find a way to fit in. "At first I was scared
to death, but once we got the team together, it started to feel
like a family. That helped me a lot."
When his junior college playing days were through, he had the
opportunity to go to numerous schools back in his home state,
but he decided to make a move to Utah.
"I didn't want to be close to home, because I have a lot
of friends who don't do anything, and I would have probably
wanted to hang out with them and gotten involved in some bad
stuff," Ross said. "I think any kid who is going to
go to school around home has to be a strong kid because you
have your friends and buddies and they are good people, but
most of them don't do anything but stay around the house, and
you don't want to be sitting on your tail and drop out of school."
He credits his stepfather for making him realize he needed
to grow up.
"He told me you can use basketball to get your education,"
Ross said. "Get something out of it. Don't be like some
players, who are just in school for five years and don't have
anything to show for it... He instills a lot of knowledge into
me."
Ross is making the most of that opportunity. He has a 3.0 grade
point average in physical education taking such classes as physiology.
He should graduate this spring and would like to be involved
with basketball, either playing or coaching, when he leaves
the University.
"This is a good place," Ross said. "I can focus
on my work. My grades have sky-rocketed. In junior college,
I was partying and having fun and doing just enough to get by.
Once I got here, I had nothing but time to study."
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