It took a while, but Ross gets in

Dust off your nice suits, vacuum the red carpet, call your mother and ask her to send some clean underwear. Just when you think I’m gone, I come back like that rash on your inner thigh, stronger than ever. The Player’s Club is back and inducting another Mustang great. Like a fine wine TPC has been sitting on the shelf waiting for the right moment to bust open. The time is now.

Quinton Ross just wrapped up a brilliant career in a Mustang uniform. Ross finishes his four-year career at SMU with a combined record of 71-48. In each of his four seasons the Ponies won 15 or more games including a single 21-win season. “Q,” as he is known by anyone who doesn’t live in a cave in the middle of Delaware, is one of the best Mustang hoopsters to run the Moody floor in years. Don’t believe me, just ask head coach Mike Dement.

“This team is going to miss him more than any player we have had in recent years,” Dement said. “As a player he did everything to try and help this team win.”

Everything might be an understatement.

In his last season at SMU, Ross took over. He surpassed every personal mark he had set in years past. The senior captain led the team and the Western Athletic Conference in scoring with an impressive 20.3 points per game. He was second on the team with 46 steals and led the Ponies, averaging 35 minutes a game. Ross pulled in 6.5 rebounds per game and started in all 30 contests. The stellar performance was enough for Ross to garnish WAC Player of the Year honors.

He leaves behind career numbers that might be harder to beat than Contra when you don’t use the code to get the extra 30 lives.

“He made everyone better and he left behind the knowledge of how the game should be played,” Dement said. “Quinton had a tremendous career here, he was a constant and steady force.”

Ross set high standards as a freshman on the Hilltop. In his second year in a Mustang uniform, Ross was the only ‘Stang to start in all 30 games.

Ross ran across rough luck in his junior year. Despite starting in all 29 games and averaging 17.4 points per game, the Ponies accumulated a record of 15-14 after a late season slide. The disappointment of the junior season was all the motivation Ross needed to bring his game to the next level.

The 2003 season ended with a disappointing loss to Nevada in the WAC tournament, but there is more basketball in Q’s bright future.

“He will play at the pro level,” Dement said. “He will find a place to play in the NBA, he has worked hard and will fit in at the next level.”

Ross will soon trade in the Red and Blue for colors to be named later. Maybe it took a little to long to get Ross into the club, and for that, apologies all around. He is in the club now but he won’t be in school much longer. Ross has done a fine job displaying the class of a well respected student athlete. “Q” is one Mustang you should know.

It took a while, but Ross gets in

It took a while, but Ross gets in