Colbey Ross nearly did it all during an all-state career at Eaglecrest, which he capped by winning Mr. Basketball honors as a senior in 2017 after leading the Raptors to the Class 5A title.
But for all his accolades, there was one box Ross, now starring at Pepperdine, couldn’t check: A scholarship offer from a major Division I program.
“When those high-level Division I’s were looking at him, they thought he didn’t have that flash to his game in high school,” said former Eaglecrest coach John Olander. “He wasn’t playing around the rim, he wasn’t scoring 30 a game because he was the ultimate team player. So because he wasn’t all that flashy, teams didn’t know how that would translate, and some of them just didn’t know how well he shot it.”
Colorado and Colorado State both showed minimal interest in Ross, a 6-foot-1 guard who ended up with three mid-major Division I offers: Pepperdine, Northern Colorado and Pacific, after averaging 18.5 points over his final two seasons at Eaglecrest.
Since heading to Malibu, Ross has turned in one of the most prolific careers in Pepperdine history. The junior has already set the Waves’ career assists record and is on pace to break the program’s career scoring mark, too. He’s averaging 19.7 points this season and his 7.3 assists per game are sixth-best in the country.
“Statement-wise, I feel like I’ve shown I can play against any player in the country and any team in the country,” Ross said. “Every time I step out, I’m out to prove why I belong on the court at this level and the next.”
Still, even with gaudy statistics, Ross wasn’t one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award this year, given annually to the top point guard in the nation. Those finalists include CU point guard McKinley Wright IV. Ross said he’ll use his exclusion from the list as motivation.
“I feel like I haven’t really gotten the national recognition that I feel like I deserve, but I don’t really let that get to me,” Ross said. “It’s probably because I go to a mid-major school at Pepperdine, and it’s because unless you’re in the top 25, top 40 teams, it’s hard to get on that list. That all probably has something to do with me not getting much love, but I feel like my play and my numbers show for itself.”
The Aurora native has had several “show-for-itself” performances this year. Ross dropped a career-high 38 points at USC in November, and had a double-double (24 points, 10 assists) against No. 2- ranked Gonzaga last month.
But as he mulls declaring for the NBA draft — “I’m waiting until after the season to see what my options are,” Ross said — the point guard understands he’ll have to keep proving critics wrong.
“(The doubt) is still the same right now,” Olander said. “He’s not the high-flier, he’s not this (professional prototype) and he’s still not that flashy in the eyes of (NBA) scouts. So while everybody’s still questioning — ‘Is he really that good?’ — he just keeps putting up numbers.
“He’s going to have to keep proving to people how good he is. Eventually, they’ll believe.”
