FanPost

First Look - Terrence Ross

You're thinking it's ridiculous to write about a potential draft pick just a few weeks into the NBA season. I think it's ridiculous that the Timberwolves still need a two guard, but David Kahn and those before him in the front office have jacked up the position situation so badly, that all possibilities need to be explored. It's reaching desperation time folks.

Just got done watching the good old Apple Cup - Washington U vs. Washington State. May I just say that the Husky crowd ranks right up there with the best of them. Non-stop energy and enthusiasm. For a second there I thought I was watching a wolves game ;-) But I digress. Terrence Ross. Learn it. Know it. It was my first look at the kid and I came away very intrigued. He went off for 30 points (26 in the 2nd half) and 14 rebounds. I came away thinking that THIS is what Wes Johnson SHOULD be. A 6-6 (6-7 in shoes) kid weighing 200 pounds, jumps out of the gym, shoots the lights out. I saw a couple of parallels - physique and athleticism. After that the comparisons end. After Tony Wroten refused to pass the ball to Ross in the first half, he and others turned the tables in the 2nd and decided to hand things over to the talented sophomore. Ross' main weapon is the long ball, and man is it a thing of beauty. Great elevation on the shot, great rotation, so unlike Wes Johnson's crazy knuckle ball. Ross is crafty at using screens to get open, but he can also just rise up and nail one in your face. He even posted up at the elbow and did a humongous step back 3 fade away, nothing but net. Had an awesome dunk on an alley-oop, finished the play, got fouled, and scored 3 the old fashioned way. WSU played a lot of zone so he wasn't given the chance to really take a guy off the bounce. He is a player that needs to be watched in order to determine what kind of defender he is, as well as if he does have some ability to take his man off the dribble.

Right now Terrence Ross goes #15 on the nbadraft.net mock. DraftExpress has him at 14, and they have some very good things to say about the kid. One thing I really liked from DE is this:

Ross may have knocked down some big-time shots as a freshman, but he was at his best using his athleticism at the basket. The Huskies ran more than a few set plays to free up Ross for backdoor lob passes and the talented guard earned himself some easy buckets by getting up the floor in transition and cutting to the basket. An explosive leaper, Ross can finish plays above the rim when he has any sort of space and is capable of finishing acrobatically around defenders as well. Converting 63.8% of his finishing opportunities according to Synergy Sports Technology, Ross backs up his style with substance.


What a nice combo he and Rubio would be in my opinion. A great above the rim finisher with a (at least for the one game I watched) great perimeter shot. I need to watch more of him, as well as other 2 guards that will likely be in the draft, but if one game is an indicator, if the Wolves can somehow get a pick in the 10-15 range either from some sort of trade or from Utah making the playoffs (they won again tonight), nabbing Ross could be huge.