Are We Waiting In Vain For UConn Sophomore Jayden Ross To Break Out?
Anyone and everyone who follows the UConn Huskies is waiting for sophomore wing Jayden Ross to take things to another level.
10 games into the season, Dan Hurley’s ball club has established its top six guys: Alex Karaban, Liam McNeeley, Solo Ball, Tarris Reed Jr., Samson Johnson, and Hassan Diarra.
Aidan Mahaney could find his way back into that mix if he continues to build upon his Baylor breakout (or if Diarra regresses).
Sophomore guard Solo Ball has taken a leap this year, but his fellow sophs on the wing, Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross, haven’t … yet.
Stewart had one excellent half in Maui, but Ross still hasn’t put together a prolonged stretch of really good basketball this season.
Hurley will need at least one of these two guys to be a reliable rotation player by the time March arrives. Stewart is probably the betting man’s favorite of the two to land that role based on his versatility as a defender. While Ross is more athletic from a run and jump standpoint, Stewart’s strength allows him to hold his own when he gets switched onto bigs. Stewart is a great run and jump athlete in his own right, by the way, even if he’s not at Ross’s Olympic level (few if any are).
Interestingly, Ross entered the season with higher expectations than Stewart. Hurley revealed to the media before the season that Ross was UConn’s best player during a closed scrimmage and that he looked like a lottery pick.
We haven’t seen that version of Ross this season, and he’s looked downright uncomfortable at times when receiving the ball on the wing under defensive pressure. He’s also struggled to knock down his open threes — he’s shooting 20.7 percent from distance on two attempts per game.
In UConn’s most recent game — a huge win over Texas — Ross played just five minutes and finished with zero points. Stewart’s minutes and production weren’t much different: eight minutes, three points.
The fact that the Huskies won the game without any significant contributions from either Stewart or Ross reiterates how neither player is in the team’s top six, and that’s okay.
Still, with each guy getting fifteen minutes a game, UConn won’t be the best version of itself this season if neither of these guys becomes a key piece.
Ross seems to have a higher ceiling, which makes the fact that he’s struggled all the more curious.
There’s still an entire Big East schedule to be played, and there’s no reason Ross can’t look like a lottery pick (or something slightly worse) yet again once March Madness rolls around. When you’re playing at UConn, the arc of player improvement is steeper — and can happen way faster — than most people expect.
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Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "UConn Huskies On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "UConn Huskies On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org