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| Babson senior point guard
Kenny Ross played Division I and Division II basketball before
providing a boost to Babson. Babson athletics photo |
Kenny Ross has heard it before – how his college basketball career could be the subject of a book or movie.
It begins in Morgantown, W.Va., where Ross showed up in 2009 as an undersized point guard who impressed legendary coach Bob Huggins enough to land a roster spot as a walk-on. He redshirted that year as the Mountaineers made a memorable run to the NCAA Final Four.
Ross returned to West Virginia the following season, looking to help the team make another deep postseason push. He appeared in just five games though, and after the 2010-11 season, he left the Division I program in search of more playing time. He landed a scholarship at Adelphi, a Division II program on Long Island.
After arriving at the new school though, Ross was faced with a barrage of challenges. His grandfather passed away a few days after he got to campus. He suffered a difficult ankle injury. And, he just didn’t like being at a largely commuter school in an unfamiliar area. He left Adelphi after one semester.
Ross took the spring semester off entirely to decide what would make the most sense for his future. He said that in the past, he chose colleges based solely on basketball, but this time he wanted to factor in education and environment. Also, because he had played Division I and Division II, returning to either of those levels would have required him to sit out a year.
So, a combination of Division III eligibility, high-quality academics, an increase of playing time and a welcoming environment drew Ross to Babson, located just outside of Boston. Last year was his first as a Beaver and now in his second year he has been named team captain, leads the nation in assist to turnover ratio and has been one of the catalysts of Babson reaching the 20-win mark for the first time in 10 years.
“I found Babson and it’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me, not just from an educational standpoint, but from a basketball standpoint,” Ross said. “I found a great fit in Babson, but it’s been a long journey and a lot of ups and downs.”
Though he came to Babson with valuable experience from the Division I level, Ross’ transition to Division III wasn’t completely smooth sailing. Between redshirting, injuries and being a role player, the Beavers’ new point guard hadn’t had significant playing time in more than two years.
It took some time, Ross said, but once he got acclimated to the demands of playing a complete game, he was able to finally able to play integrate his pass-first offensive approach into Babson’s game plan.
“The first two or three games, I don’t think I struggled on paper, but I struggled mentally playing an actual game,” Ross said. “[Head coach Stephen Brennan] was there the whole way and I got my legs back under me and it took off from there.”
Despite this just being his second season at Babson, Brennan said Ross’ experience, basketball intelligence and tireless work ethic led him to be named the team’s sole captain for this season.
To play at the Division I level, Brennan said, a player has to have a fiery competitive spirit, something that is still present in Ross. The experience and basketball knowledge Ross has gained through his many stops along his path to Babson has helped him become a strong leader on the team, Brennan said.
“I think the big thing that he brings is the competitiveness he brings every day,” Brennan said. “You’re not going to play at a Division I program unless you compete on a daily basis, work and take coaching. It’s a situation where for us he’s helped us raise our competitive level within the group. He’s a very high-end competitor who hates to lose and gets frustrated very quickly when we’re not doing things well as a team.”
Ross said his time at West Virginia helped him further develop that competitive drive. At the Division I level, he said, basketball takes over a huge chunk of time and players need to put in the work off the court to be successful.
“You’re up at 5 or 6 in the morning lifting weights for an hour and a half, and that’s not lifting weights to look good in the summer,” he said. “That’s lifting weights heavily every single day. At West Virginia they said we lifted harder than the football team and that was during the season when we were playing games… If you don’t have the work ethic, you won’t survive.”
Another important aspect of Ross’ arrival to Babson that helped him gain the respect of his teammates was his ability to create opportunities for them. Ross describes himself as a pass-first point guard and Brennan said the other players on the roster were quick to welcome someone who was so adept at finding them opportunities.
In addition to his nation’s-best 5.32 assist to turnover ratio, Ross is ranked No. 19 in the country with 133 total assists.
“Everybody loves to catch and shoot the ball,” Brennan said. “If you’re a guy who is a pass-first point guard, which Kenny is, he makes friends real fast on the court. Kenny’s made a lot of shots for a lot of different people in our program over the last two years. He just has such a good sense of timing and he puts it right where they need it in the correct moment.”
With Ross at the helm, the Beavers have turned around from a 14-13 season last year to a 20–5 regular season this year and bye into the semifinals of the NEWMAC tournament. Ross said the major differences between this year’s team compared to last year’s is the determination of the team as a group and the trust the players have in one another.
Ross said last year’s team had a few players depart and others were sidelined with injuries. This year, the team has a fully formed roster and for the most part, has managed to stay healthy throughout the season.
“When we’re playing together, everyone actually cares about one another and everyone cares about the team,” Ross said. “That’s what matters the most and the coaches have gotten the best of the talent we have. The reason we beat teams and why we’re having such a great year is because we actually play together, do the little things and no one has their own agenda.”
With the team slated to take on Springfield on Saturday, March 1 in the semifinals, Ross said this approach is what will help make the Beavers make a run in playoffs. He said when he got to Babson he made a goal with Brennan and while that goal hasn’t been accomplished quite yet, he said the team has put itself in position to achieve something extraordinary.
“We kind of had a thing together that we were going to make the NCAA tournament in the few years I was there and we’re pretty close to doing that so I hope it all works out,” Ross said.
Where’d they finish?
Men: As expected the east and northeast had a strong showing in the top-25 throughout the season, but there were a few surprises along the way.
Not surprisingly, NESCAC powerhouses Amherst and Williams, the preseason No. 1 and No. 3 teams respectively, finished as the region’s top ranked teams. The Western Massachusetts rivals both finished 22–3 overall and 9–1 in the conference. Amherst, however, ends the regular season ranked No. 7 in the country, with Williams at No. 9, likely in part because of the Lord Jeff’s 2–0 season sweep of the Ephs.
Despite their status as national powerhouses, both teams proved they are not infallible. The upset alarms sounded early in the season for both as first Williams fell 88–87 to Southern Vermont in the season opener and Amherst lost to Emerson, 90–79 a few weeks later.
But, after righting the ship, from there on out, Amherst and Williams cruised into the NESCAC tournament with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively. The conference’s quarterfinals began on February 22 with Amherst defeating Colby, 82–72, using a late game push to secure the win after leading by just three at half time.
Williams and Tufts needed overtime to settle their quarterfinal bout, but the Ephs pulled ahead in the final frame with 6-9 senior center Michael Mayer leading the way. Mayer led all scorers with 30 points and led Williams with eight rebounds and four assists.
Amherst will face off with Trinity in the semifinals on Saturday, March 1 after the Bantams shocked Bowdoin in a triple-overtime thriller in the quarterfinals. The Polar Bears were 19–4 heading into the NESCAC tournament and had made a few appearances in the top-25 throughout the season. However, the team hit a skid heading into the playoffs, dropping three of its five regular season games in February.
In the buzzer-beater packed quarterfinal, Bowdoin’s Lucas Hausman hit a layup with six seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime. The second OT needed more Bowdoin heroics as Bryan Hurley tied the game at 64 apiece with a last second three. The Bantams however, went into a defensive lockdown in the third overtime and held Bowdoin to just three points to earn the 71–67 win.
Williams’ semifinal match up will be against Middlebury, which held off Hamilton’s second half surge in an 81-77 quarterfinal victory.
The men’s race in the NEWMAC turned out to be a tight one, with WPI (12–2 in the conference) just edging out Babson (11–3) and Springfield (10–4). The Engineers impressed all season, finishing No. 11 in the nation, and with a 22–3 overall record, earned its 11th consecutive 20-win season.
WPI’s top placement in the conference earned the squad a bye through the quarterfinals in the NEWMAC championship and a berth in the semis. The Engineers will host the winner of the Wednesday, Feb. 26 quarterfinal between Emerson and MIT on Saturday, March 1. WPI has four players averaging double digit points per game, led by junior guard Sam Longwell’s 16.5.
Despite a 24-5 record last year, the Albertus Magnus Falcons were left off the preseason Top 25 poll and did not even receive a vote. However, Albertus Magnus and its high-powered offense dominated the GNAC, finishing 17-1 in the conference and 23-2 overall. Needless to say, the Falcons’ spectacular season turned some heads and earned them the No. 14 spot in the week-12 national ranking.
The Falcons are fourth in the nation in scoring average, with 90.1 points per game, led by senior guard Darius Watson’s 21.8. Albertus Magnus is riding a six-game winning streak heading into the conference tournament, which it will host on its New Haven, Conn. campus. The team’s one conference loss this season came at the hands of Saint Joseph’s (Me.), on February 1. This was also the Falcons’ sole Division III loss this season, with its only other slip up coming on December 29, at Division I Central Connecticut State.
Albertus Magnus will take on Norwich (6–19 overall, 4–14 conference) in the GNAC quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
In the East Region, the SUNYAC provided another closely contested conference race. It was Brockport, though, that finished in the top spot with a 16–2 conference record and went 22–3 overall.
The Golden Eagles completed their regular season ranked No. 16 nationally, a stark improvement over last year’s 15–11 campaign. Senior guard John Ivy has led the team throughout the season, averaging 21.3 points per game, which ranks him 17th in the country.
Ivy will be a question mark heading into the SUNYAC championship tournament, though. According to the Rochester, N.Y., based Democrat and Chronicle, Ivy suffered a knee injury in the team’s 95–83 loss to Oswego on February 18. The report states the injury sidelined Ivy for the final two regular season games, and as of the Feb. 21 article, Ivy’s status for the tournament was unknown.
Brockport earned a bye into the semifinals and will host the winner of Oswego and Cortland’s semifinal match up on Friday, Feb. 28.
Women
To wrap up the regular season, three of the nation’s top women’s teams are from the NESCAC, with Tufts, Amherst and Bowdoin all earning national rankings in the week 12 poll.
Tufts, the No. 6 ranked team in the nation, has already announced its presence in the NESCAC Championship Tournament with authority. The Jumbos trounced Wesleyan, 74–46 in a Feb. 22 quarterfinal game. Junior guard Hannah Foley led all scorers with 24 points and junior center Hayley Kanner contributed with 11 points and three blocks.
Tufts’ finished its impressive regular season with a 23–1 record and a perfect 10–0 against the NESCAC. Kanner and Foley lead the team with 11.6 and 10.9 points per game respectively. Junior guard Kelsey Morehead has been the catalyst for much of Tufts’ scoring as well, setting up her teammates with 80 assists thus far. Morehead’s 2.67 assist to turnover puts her in a three-way tie for the No. 4 spot in the country.
The Jumbos will host Trinity in the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday, March 1.
Similarly, the Amherst women’s squad cruised through its NESCAC quarterfinal match up with a 78-33 win over Hamilton on Feb. 22. Amherst, ranked No. 9 nationally, is in the midst of an eight game winning streak. In the win, Amherst displayed its ability to spread the ball around, with four players finishing with double-digit points. Freshman guard Ali Doswell led the way with 15, followed by freshman Hannah Peterson’s 14, freshman guard Jaimie Renner’s 13 and freshman forward Meredith Doswell’s 12.
Amherst will take on Bowdoin in the semifinals on Saturday, March 1. The Lord Jeffs won the teams’ earlier match up in a 65–57 win over the Polar Bears on February 1.
That semifinal will be a battle of ranked squads, with Bowdoin currently 21–4 overall and No. 24 in the country. The Polar Bears faced a tough test in the quarterfinals, but knocked out Williams, a team that has been ranked throughout much of the season. Bowdoin earned the 71–46 win with the help of an enormous first half performance. Junior guard Sara Binkhorst exploded for 14 of her 22 total points in the first half points and the Polar Bears played stifling defense, holding Williams to just 15 points before the break.
In addition to Binkhorst, Bowdoin has received some help from its youth. Sophomore forward Shannon Brady leads the team with 14.1 points per game and seven rebounds per game.
Contact me
It’s officially playoff time! As the season winds down I’ll still be on the lookout for feature stories from throughout the East and Northeast. Please send any story ideas my way at cory.francer@d3sports.com.
