SEATTLE — Terrence Jones burst onto the scene with 25 points and 12 rebounds in his collegiate debut with Kentucky. North Carolina freshman Harrison Barnes had 14 points in his first game, 19 in his next.
Kyrie Irving had 30 points for top-ranked Duke in an early-December win, and a few
days later Ohio State’s J.J. Sullinger hit 40. And after a delayed start, Josh Selby almost single-handedly led the Kansas Jayhawks to victory with 21 points and the game-winning 3-pointer in a two-point win over USC three weeks ago.
Through it all, Terrence Ross had to wonder: When will my
time finally come?
The answer has unfolded over the past 10 days, when the University of Washington’s quiet freshman reserve player has blossomed into the Huskies’ Super Frosh.
It’s taken longer than some of his high-profile classmates at bigger programs, but Ross is finally proving that he belongs near the head of his class.
“We finally got him to stop crying,” senior teammate Matthew Bryan-Amaning said after Ross went for a game-high 25 points in Thursday night’s win over Oregon. “He was saying: ‘Man, all these freshmen doing these things.’
“I told him it’s a long season, and it would happen for him. Now we’re seeing it before our eyes.”
In a matter of less than two weeks, UW’s 6-foot-6 freshman has certainly grown up in a hurry. After averaging 5.5 points in limited minutes through the nonconference season, Ross ranks seventh in the Pac-10 in scoring during the conference season, averaging 16.7 points per game in UW’s three wins.
“I do have some stuff to work on, but I’m beginning to get it,” the Portland native said Thursday night. “I’m learning more tricks from the older guys. It’s becoming easier.”
Regardless of what the country’s top freshmen are doing in other parts — for the record, Jones, Barnes and Selby have cooled off, while Irving is out with a foot injury — first-year players always seem to take a while in UW’s system. Head coach Lorenzo Romar warned Ross of that when he recruited him, and the freshman’s early struggles and recent surge came as no surprise to the veteran coach.
“Although it’s tough, I think kids like it better in the long run when they have to earn it,” he said.
Current NBA players Brandon Roy, Spencer Hawes, Jon Brockman and Quincy Pondexter all had similar slow starts, as did prized recruit Abdul Gaddy as a freshman last season.
“At the beginning of the year, as a freshman, you’re thinking so many things,” junior Isaiah Thomas said this week. “You’ve got to walk the right way or (Romar) is going to take you out, so you’re always looking over your shoulder.
“Terrence is like me: once you get some confidence in you, nobody can stop you.”
Confidence doesn’t seem to be a problem for the shot-happy Ross. And Romar isn’t exactly trying to knock him down to size.
After Thursday’s game, Romar was asked to compare Ross to some of his past players and said: “In terms of his talent alone, he’s right up there with Brandon Roy.”
Ross has a long way to go to equal Roy’s production. But he’s come a long way already.
“He’s really come into his own quickly,” Romar said. “He’s really giving the coaching staff a lot of confidence in him.”
GRAFIC:
Today’s game
UW men (11-3, 3-0) vs. Oregon State (7-7, 2-1)
Where: Hec Edmundson Pavilion
When: 3:30 p.m.
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