By Learning To Slow Down, Jayden Ross Could Arrive Right On Time For UConn
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There’s one crucial detail about basketball that UConn Huskies sophomore wing Jayden Ross hasn’t yet learned: this sport is all about changing speeds.
Ross has all the athletic gifts of a lab-created NBA player: Olympic leaping ability, devastating speed, length, wiry strength. At six-foot-seven, Ross has good size, too.
Ross’s ridiculous athleticism allows him to impact games defensively, on the glass, and in the open floor as an unstoppable finisher. These are some of the tools that Dan Hurley was thinking about when he predicted that Ross might take off like a rocket ship this season.
The Ross launch hasn’t happened in 2024-25, though, and the reason is that Ross hasn’t been able to slow the game down for himself as a halfcourt offensive player.
Division-I basketball games are played fast, no doubt, and decisions have to be made in the blink of an eye. It’s easy to see when a player is overwhelmed by this pace — they are rushing shots, treating the ball like a hot potato, and being hesitant in moments where aggression is needed.
That’s been Ross this year in UConn’s halfcourt O, and the stats back it up. Despite playing a healthy 15.1 minutes per game, Ross is averaging just 3.6 points per game on 22.3 percent from three.
When you’re a player like Ross who’s struggling to slow the game down, any athleticism you have becomes a curse and begins to work against you. That’s why Ross has struggled more than less-gifted athletes in his position would. As his mind ramps up to hyperspeed in moments where it should be in slow motion, his body joins in on the rush.
Here’s the thing: Ross can be an effective halfcourt player at this level, but he needs to relax and slow down. Even if he did nothing other than operate as a catch-and-shoot player from three who’s also capable of shot-faking and ripping through into the lane, he’d find endless opportunities above the rim, where no one in college basketball can challenge him.
But because Ross is moving too fast for what the game demands, he’s always panicking and darting off (in both mind and body) before these opportunities present themselves to him in the flow of the offense.
Everyone knows Ross can be a special player — Hurley’s seen him look like UConn’s alpha at times during practice.
And making a huge mental adjustment like the one we’re talking about is no joke during the middle of a Big East schedule. When every possession matters, it’s difficult to develop as a player.
But we saw Aidan Mahaney do it versus Xavier, didn’t we?
Hurley and staff are doing all they can to bring Ross along — namely, continuing to give him minutes.
The only way Ross is going to learn to play at slower speeds is to play as often as possible.
When the Huskies thought a three-peat was feasible (and who’s to stay it’s still not?), they were banking on Ross playing like an NBA prospect this season.
That hasn’t come close to happening, but with a player of Ross’s talent, a change in mentality can -- believe it or not -- activate overnight success.
Ross’s eureka moment is right around the corner.
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