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RECRUITING ON THE SOUTH PLAINS
Measurables
AARON ROSSPosition: PF Ht: 6'7" | Wt: 220 lbs Prep School: St. John's Northwest Military Academy, WI (Delafield, WI) DTN Profile Video: Clip 1 Rivals  | Scout N/RESPN 92 | 24/7 Sports 85 Cumulative Ranking: INC Offers
Arkansas, Dayton, Alabama and Texas Tech |
This is commitment #7 for a team that only has two scholarships available. Whatever you think you learned this year, you can pretty much ignore as we're going to learn something entirely different next year.
The one thing that's always a bit interesting on player profiles is the height and weight and Ross' height is about 6'7" and at 220 pounds, but then I ran across this Under Armour profile where Ross may have been measured at 6'6" and 250 pounds. Ross isn't a small guy, but he doesn't look to be 250 pounds, but maybe that's wrong.
The video clip in Ross' profile is that there were a ton of videos on YouTube with full games that Ross is playing while at St. John's Northwest Military Academy. He's number 32 on his team so you can get a full idea of how Ross plays in a game situation and not just highlights.
I did want to point out one additional thing in Ross's transition from high school to prep school, which is that Ross didn't qualify academically because of an ACT score, but CBS Sports' Jeff Borzello reported last year that Ross has a learning disability and should have been permitted to take the ACT untimed and verbally.
Stats
The frustrating thing has been that neither Ross' Parkview high school team in Little Rock or St. John's Northwest Military Academy post their stats to the usually reliable MaxPreps. I think I read something where Ross averaged 23 PPG and 11 RPG while in high school, but I can't find what Ross is doing while at prep school.
The Player Speaks
DMN's Mike Graham reported from RRS.com about Ross' visit last week:
"When I went on my visit, I liked it a lot," Ross told Aaron Dickens of RedRaiderSports.com about his visit to Lubbock this past Saturday. "When I got back to school in Wisconsin, I was just thinking what I was going to do. I was going to take a visit to Alabama, but I liked Texas Tech so there was no point in taking a visit to Alabama."
And ESPN's Reggie Rankin had this:
"I had a great visit, I liked the campus, Coach G and the staff it was just a great fit for me," said Ross, who picked the Red Raiders over Alabama, Dayton and Arkansas who Ross was previously committed to.
Scouting Report
There is no shortage of thoughts on what Ross brings to the basketball court. Just from my review of some of the video, he is somewhat limited athletically and I think he's a better small forward that power forward, but I'd also guess that this is what head coach Billy Gillispie thinks as well. Ross is a smooth offensive player that, because of his size, has the ability to dominate smaller players in the post as well as outside. I hope that Ross will develop into a true small forward as that's what I think his calling is, but he needs to watch his weight and I think he can have some success at the 215 to 220 range, but if he gets much heavier, I think he'll have trouble guarding quicker small forwards in the Big 12.
The experts weigh in after the jump.
The most complete and recent report comes from Bosworth Hoops:
Aaron Ross (St. John’s Northwest Military Academy 2012) – A onetime Arkansas commit, Ross played like one of the nation’s bet forwards against the loaded frontline of Brewster. He tallied 30 points and 9 rebounds by mixing 3 point shots (3-7) with hard drives to the basket. Ross has the quickness to take his man out on the perimeter but also the strength to go to work on the low block. This combination gave Brewster fits all day as they tried various defenders to slow down the big man. Only Jakarr Sampson had any success but even he gave up his share of hoops against Ross. Finding balance between inside and outside will always be important for Ross as he doesn’t want to hunt jumpers and ignore his physical advantages. He also needs to be more committed defensively and will have to define a roll on that end. He is a little bit between a 3 and a 4 right now but needs to be a 4 defensively in my mind. Regardless of position he’s a beast and showed that off today.
24/7 Sports Robert Turberville (spelled differently than TTU head football coach Tommy Tuberville) spoke with PrepStars Rob Harrington about Ross after it was learned that he would not qualify at Arkansas:
"I don’t think it will hurt Ross to take an extra year before he gets to college,” said Harrington, whose website partners with 247sports.com to compile the Top 247 basketball recruit rankings.
“He’s physically ready. He’s a strong kid, but he can work on becoming more of a pure three (small forward). That will be the biggest challenge in college will be to break out of being a combo forward and becoming a true three. Taking an extra year on that is not going to hurt him.”
From almost two years ago, ESPN's Adam Finklestein (interestingly, I think this is the same AAU team that current Texas Tech commit Dusty Hannahs played for this past summer, so maybe they played together):
Aaron Ross (Little Rock, Ark/Parkview Arts & Science Magnet)
2011 SF, 6-8 | AAU team: Arkansas Wings
The Arkansas commit made the Razorbacks look good as he was a dominant force on the offensive end of the floor. A 6-8 forward with a polished skill set and a strong body, Ross presents major matchup problems for opposing defenses. He showed a smooth stroke off the catch and the dribble, attacked the rim hard with a single bounce from the short-corner, scored inside the paint and on the offensive glass, and even handled enough to drive and kick for his teammates.