Coloradan Colbey Ross Preparing For NBA Draft
(CBS4)- For the past four seasons, Colbey Ross from Colorado has been rewriting the Pepperdine record books in Malibu, California. Ross set Pepperdine career records for points (2,236) and assists (854), and is the first player in NCAA Division I history to have career totals of at least 2,200 points, 800 assists and 400 rebounds.
Despite his eye-popping numbers, you likely won't find Ross' name on any NBA first-round mock drafts.
"He's a humble assassin," says his former Eaglecrest High School coach John Olander. "He just doesn't show out. He's not the high flyer, he's not dunking the ball, he's not blocking shots. He uses every part of his basketball brain in his game. He's such a thinker and he's efficient in what he does."
Ross didn't have many Division I offers coming out of high school, so being overlooked, is nothing new.
"I feel like I've done some things that no one else playing college basketball has ever done, but I still feel like I'm overlooked and underrated," said Ross.
That's part of why he's hoping to use the next month to get in-person workouts with NBA teams to show off his strengths.
"The draft process has been great. It's everything that I expected. A lot of hard work, a lot of workouts. Every workout I get in to, I have a chip on my shoulder. I'm there to prove that I belong," said Ross.
"They (an NBA team) are going to get a person that works harder than anybody else. He's going to be a great teammate. He's going to do whatever a team needs of him. They're going to get an all-around really good basketball player," adds Olander.
Ross and his Pepperdine teammate Kessler Edwards could become the first pair of Pepperdine teammates drafted into the NBA Draft since 1986.
"It would be great for Pepperdine history. If both of us here our name called, that would be history. Hopefully, that does come, but at the end of the day, we just both want to stick in the league for a long time."
The upcoming NBA Draft will take place on July 29.