By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops columnist | ARCHIVES
 
ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas calls Pepperdine senior Colbey Ross one of the best point guards in the country. “He just knows how to play,” Bilas said. “He can be unguardable not only because of the skill he has but because of the will.”
 
The will. Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar sees it every day.
 
“He just has an unbelievable will,” Romar confirmed. “He’s someone who gets up at 5:30 in the morning and comes in the gym and shoots. He never even mentions it because he’s not doing it for show. That’s just a part of his makeup.”
 
Ross is Pepperdine’s career leader in points and assists — the only West Coast Conference player to hold that distinction at his school. More than that, he has directed that will toward becoming one of the all-time most prolific collegiate point guards in the West.
 
Ross will enter Pepperdine’s game Saturday at BYU having totaled 1,954 points, 391 rebounds and 740 assists in his college career.
 
Research of every Division I program in 12 Western states reveals that only one player ever in the WCC, Pac-12, Mountain West, Big West, WAC and Big Sky conferences has assembled career totals of 2,000 points, 400 rebounds and 700 assists.
 
With just 46 more points and nine rebounds, Ross will join Naismith Hall of Famer Gary Payton in that exclusive club. Payton’s totals from 1987-90 at Oregon State: 2,172 points, 480 rebounds and 938 assists. “The Glove” also had 321 steals at OSU before going on to become a nine-time NBA All-Star.
 
Neither Ross nor Romar had any idea he was approaching such rare statistical territory.
 
“No way . . . wow. That’s awesome. That’s impressive,” was how Romar reacted.
 
“Wow . . . that’s crazy,” Ross said. “It’s actually really cool. I never even thought things like that would happen in my career. To hear you say that, it’s humbling and motivating.”
 
Ross gives his family credit as the source of the competitive drive that has led him to this place. It starts with the example of his mother, Mary Ross, a single mom. “I see how har she works for us to give us a better life,” Ross said. “I feel like that’s where the motivation comes from.”
 
Older brother Elijah set the career assists record at CU-Colorado Springs, while younger sister Jadyn is a freshman on the basketball team at CU-Pueblo, both Division II programs. Elijah always provided Colbey with incentive to improve.
 
“He’s helped me become a better player,” Ross said. “Anytime we did anything, I’d want to beat him. That kind of put the chip on my shoulder growing up.”
 
That chip grew in high school when no school in the Pac-12 recruited Ross, including Colorado, located just 34 miles from his home in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
 
“Colorado was me and my mom’s dream school because the family would be able to watch my games,” he said. “They never recruited me.”
 
Ross is happy to be at Pepperdine, but he continues to embrace the underdog role. It shows when the Waves play a bigger-name school, especially one from the Pac-12. He scored 38 points against USC a year ago, and had 33 in a triple-overtime loss to UCLA back in November.
 
His signature performance was a dazzling 43-point effort against Saint Mary’s in the WCC tournament quarterfinals last year.
 
“It’s just wanting to prove to people how good I am, show how good Pepperdine is. Put us on the map,” he said.
 
No one in the WCC questions what Ross brings to the floor. He is a two-time All-WCC first-team selection with 49 career games of at least 20 points, and in Thursday’s 85-68 win over Portland recorded his 17th game of 10 or more assists.
 
“He’s a terrific player,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “He’s one of those guys who can hurt you in the open floor. He’s got this knack for (drawing) fouls, getting to himself to the line. His 3-point percentage is good. His pull-up game is good. He’s a good finisher. And they give him the ultimate freedom.”
 
Romar provides that green light because he trusts Ross’s decision-making and knows he will rise to the level of whoever the Waves are playing. “When I got the job, I saw how he was fearless he is,” Romar said. “There was no game above him.”
 
Ross understands he will probably have to prove himself all over again in order to earn a spot in the NBA. The website NBADraft.net projects him as the No. 57 overall pick this year but other mock drafts don’t include him. Ross knows the drill.
 
“I’m very confident,” he said. “I’m going to have to push through and work but at the end of the day I’m going to bet my myself.”
 
Romar, who played five NBA seasons, also is betting on his guy.
 
“They’re definitely intrigued because they see him as a guy who just won’t go away,” Romar said of NBA scouts. “They can’t walk away. They have to keep watching.”
 
TEN WHO WERE CLOSE: Here are 10 more players from current WCC schools who met the minimum criteria in two of the three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists): 
 
Danny Ainge, BYU (1978-81): 2,467 points, 541 rebounds, 539 assists
Christopher Anderson, San Diego (2012-15): 1,181 points, 433 rebounds, 757 assists
Bill Cartwright, USF (1976-79): 2,116 points, 1,137 rebounds, 154 assists
Yoeli Childs, BYU (2016-20): 2,031 points, 1,053 rebounds, 222 assists
Hank Gathers, USC/LMU (1986-90): 2,723 points, 1,128 rebounds, 168 assists
Tyler Haws, BYU (2010-15): 2,720 points, 593 rebounds, 257 assists
Bo Kimble, Loyola Marymount (1986-90): 2,350 points, 505 rebounds 172 assists
Forrest McKenzie, Loyola Marymount (1982-86): 2,059 points, 723 rebounds, 169 assists
Jim McPhee, Gonzaga (1986-1990): 2,015 points, 487 rebounds, 305 assists
Josh Perkins, Gonzaga (2015-19): 1,562 points, 429 rebounds, 712 assists
 
MORE THAN ROSS: While Colbey Ross dished 11 assists, teammate Kessler Edwards was the big scorer for Pepperdine vs. Pacific, with a career-high 37 points, the most by any WCC player this season. Kessler shot 11-for-18, including 6-for-9 from beyond the 3-point arc, and was perfect in nine tries from the free throw line. The junior forward also cracked the 1,000-point career barrier. 
 
PERFECT AT PROVO: Matt Haarms, BYU’s 7-foot-3 senior center, scored a season-high 23 points in the Cougars’ 95-67 home victory over Portland on Thursday. A transfer from Purdue, Haarms shot 9-for-9 from the field, including his only 3-point try, and was 4-for-4 on free throws.
 
It was the second-highest scoring outing of his 115-game career, behind only 26 points he totaled for the Boilermakers vs. Minnesota a year ago.
 
GAELS EACH GET ONE: The Saint Mary’s men and women finally got into the win column in WCC play on Thursday night. The SMC men (10-5, 1-3) held off Loyola Marymount 65-61 in Los Angeles while the Gaels’ women (3-10, 1-6) used double-digit scoring from five different players to beat Pepperdine 79-61.