Prospect Spotlight: Noah Ross (2018)
The Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines have been up and down so far this season, currently sitting with a 4-6 record for the season. While the results in the win/loss column have been unpredictable, one thing that hasn’t been is the play of senior guard, Noah Ross.
“Noah is our leader. He is our scoring leader and our vocal leader” says head coach Kevin Tumberg. Ross has definitely led by example this season, as the 6’2” guard is averaging 24 PPG, 10.1 REB, 2.6 AST, and 2 steals while shooting 38% from three and 76% at the foul line. The accuracy from deep is down a bit this year, and is expected to return to somewhere near the 44% he shot last season while setting the Wolverines single-season scoring record of 541 points.
Ross is not just a threat from deep, however, as Tumberg adds “Noah can score the ball from anywhere in the gym and has a very high basketball IQ. Noah wants to be a well-rounded basketball player and wants to become better at finishing at the rim. Noah is an extremely good shooter, but has tried to make himself a dual threat.”
Asked to assess his own game, Ross says “I believe my strengths as a player are my shooting ability, work ethic and my basketball IQ. I have worked on my ball handling, and my ability to finish inside against defenders.”
The assessment from both coach and player are spot on. In a game against Henning earlier this season that I attended, Ross displayed his well-rounded scoring approach. He was able to get to the rim and finish off the dribble, post up smaller defenders, and catch and shoot with ease on his way to a 29-point night in a victory.
The senior has only been in contact with one school for basketball at this point, and may not have popped up on the radar of many, as he did not play on the AAU circuit this past year. It would seem that a MIAC of UMAC type school would be a good fit, as he said “I’m looking for a college that is relatively smaller and has a good science department. I’m also looking for one that really prepares me for grad school.”
While finding a college that is a good fit is important to Noah, what’s most important to him right now is the way that his squad performs the remainder of the season. “Our season hasn’t started out the way we would have wanted it to. I’m expecting us to finish the season a lot better than we started” says Ross.
***Photo Credit: Wadena Pioneer Journal***