Mavs Moneyball Blog Off

Here is Andrew Boehner and his profile of Quinton Ross.

Player Profile: Quinton Ross

The hometown product, Quinton Ross, was not selected in the 2003 NBA Draft despite an impressive collegiate career at SMU.  After a brief stint playing professionally overseas, Ross broke into the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2004-05 season.  Ross is now in his sixth year in the league with his third team.  The Mavs inked Ross to a two year deal this past off-season bringing the Dallas native back to his hometown.

Ross has made his niche in the NBA as a role player who is an excellent defender. Ross was specifically brought in to help contain the elite perimeter scorers that have long plagued the Mavericks.  Ross is a versatile defensive player capable of guarding anyone from quicker Point Guards to stronger Small Forwards as he showed during the 2006 playoffs while guarding Steve Nash and Carmelo Anthony in consecutive playoff series.  In addition to playing strong defense, Ross has great court awareness on both sides of the ball.  Offensively, he rarely makes a mistake, turning the ball over approximately one time for every 36 minutes played.  Ross is also a good rebounder for his position and a solid 3-point shooter when left open.  Last season in Memphis, Ross shot a very respectable 37.5% from long range.

Ross will not bring much to the table offensively other than his ability to knock down the open 3-pt shot with some consistency.  Ross is not a strong ball-handler and he is not particularly adept at creating for himself or for his teammates.  Ross will also struggle to finish around the basket.  At this point in his career, do not expect Ross to make any significant leaps in his game on the offensive end of the court.  While Ross is limited offensively, he plays within himself and does not compound his offensive limitations with poor shot selection or thoughtless mistakes.

Ross' ability to shoot the ball well from beyond the arc will be critical in his battle for minutes.  While on the court for defensive purposes, the Mavs cannot afford to be hamstrung by him on the offensive end.  Ross should be a borderline rotation contributor once the Mavs are at full strength.  Ross will also be used as a fill-in starter when injuries hit the Mavs' wing players as evidenced by Ross' start in replace of Josh Howard in the season opener.  However, once the team is fully healthy, Ross' role could vary from game to game depending on the opponent.  He could see increased playing time in games that the Mavs are going against one of the league's premier scorers.  On the flip side, he could be reduced to watching from the bench if Coach Carlisle believes the team needs more offensive firepower to win on a particular night.  However, Ross' knack for playing defense should get him on the court and I would expect to see him, on average, about 12 minutes a night depending on the opponent. 

Some factoids you may not know about the homegrown product:

Ross led Kimball to the state championship game his senior season. 

Ross was the WAC Player of the Year in 2003 and an honorable mention All-American after averaging 20.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game during his senior season at SMU. 

Ross graduated from SMU with a degree in Economics. 

Basketballvalue.com ranks Ross as the ninth best defensive player in the NBA according to the adjusted plus/minus rating it uses.

Quinton Ross' scouting report on himself: "A guy who plays hard, gives a great effort on the defensive side of the ball and on offense just tries to make the right plays"