When Jayden Ross committed to the UConn Huskies in the summer of 2022, few thought he’d be ready to contribute early on. He stood as a fringe four-star prospect that had a lot of potential with his athleticism and an unproven jumper, projecting to be a player that the coaching staff took some extra time to work with. Since then, a lot has changed. The wing has improved dramatically after a strong year at Long Island Lutheran high school and is set to be an important rotational piece for the Huskies in year one.
“Jayden [Ross]’s fitting in great,” head coach Dan Hurley said. “I think he’s been a surprise in a way because he’s always been a great prospect [with] huge upside, but he’s worked his way into the rotation. When we recruited him, we talked a lot about long-term and where we thought he could be in year two or year three and he’s got the look of a guy who’s going to help us potentially this year. Not a lot of freshmen are doing that on teams.”
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This transformation came quicker than many expected, but shouldn’t be a surprise given the level of athleticism in his family.
“[Ross] has great pedigree,” Hurley noted. “His dad played football at Rutgers and his mom played volleyball at Rutgers, so great athletic pedigree.”
Having a support system and so much division one talent in his blood provides a large boost, but is far from any guarantee of success. Hard work and being exposed to the right environment is perhaps equally important. He’s had the genes, but the factor that’s raised his talent over the past year is the time he spent at Long Island Lutheran.
“He played at a really good high school program this past year,” mentioned Hurley. “The coach [John Buck] coaches those guys pretty hard and has college-type of practices and accountability and seriousness to the work. So that’s a big benefit if you can ever get a guy that knows how to practice and knows how to play in structure and understands philosophy on both ends of the court.”
Ross shared Hurley’s appreciation of the role that ‘LuHi’ played in his development and even sees a connection between Buck and Hurley’s practices.
“Last year at Long Island Lutheran, I played under Coach [John] Buck and he prepared me for these intense practices because they’re really similar,” Ross noted. “He pushed us just as hard every single day. The intensity has been a bit of an adjustment along with the practices [at UConn], but I expected Coach Hurley to give us 100% effort every single day. If he’s not pushing us, then is that something that we really want? We want to be the best players we can be. That’s why we’re all here and that’s why they won the national championship last year.”
Ross’ drive to get better and to have coaches that push him has benefitted him immensely and should be reflected in his minutes this season. Another factor helps is the boost of having a longtime friend, Solo Ball, on the team and going through all the ups and downs of the college experience daily. The two played together in AAU on Team Melo and also in high school at St. James before they went their separate ways north to higher-level prep schools.
“It makes life a lot easier when you have someone who’s going through the same difficulties and learning experiences that you’ve known for a long time, you can relate a lot,” Ross said of the benefits of having Ball on campus. “Even with the other freshmen, we’ve all gotten pretty close. The coaches have been pushing us every day. When you get pushed to your max every day it gets easier and we’re learning every single day.”
What can UConn fans expect from Ross? He’ll tell you that he’s in Storrs, CT to help his Huskies maximize their potential.
“My role is being the best teammate I can be,” Ross noted. “Obviously I’m not going to be coming in and shooting every shot and going iso-ball, so I’m going to be the best teammate I can be, creating plays for each other. Running the wing is something that I’m looking at playing this year–the two, the three and a little bit of the four as well. Being a pest on defense is something [the coaches] are trying to instill into us.”
Hurley was a bit more forward about what the wing will provide if things go to plan.
“He’s what everyone’s looking for in a basketball player,” Hurley continued. “A 3-and-D player with serious athletic ability, can make threes, has potential defensively to be really outstanding and great athleticism and size.”
Until the November 6 opener, fans will have to wait to see what Ross will bring to the table. But they seemed to love his ability to rattle the rim at First Night, with his monstrous jam. And Ross was fond of the event too.
“It was amazing,” mentioned Ross. “First time in that kind of environment in front of that many people. Just being able to set foot on the court for the first time in front of that many people gives you an idea of what the games will be like. It was fun for sure.”
He’ll have no shortage of opportunities to get the fans fired up as he did for First Night. If Hurley’s praise of the freshman is appropriate, he’ll likely emerge as a fan favorite and will be a big piece in this year’s repeat effort.
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