Ronnie Ross Keeps Making Adjustments

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."