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Texas Tech basketball: The 5 defining games of Ronald Ross’ career

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - MARCH 07: An Under Armour basketball sits on the court during a timeout during the first half of the college basketball game against the Kansas Jayhawks on March 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - MARCH 07: An Under Armour basketball sits on the court during a timeout during the first half of the college basketball game against the Kansas Jayhawks on March 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot “Raider Red”. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
The Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot “Raider Red”. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

After learning that former Texas Tech basketball star Ronald Ross is headed to the Texas Tech Hall of Fame, let’s look back at five games that defined his Red Raider career.

It appears that Ronald Ross’ last act as a member of the Texas Tech athletic program will be his induction into the Texas Tech Sports Hall of Fame.  The former point guard who led the 2004-05 Texas Tech basketball team to the NCAA Sweet16 is set for enshrinement this fall along with six other former Red Raiders from across the sports landscape.

For the time being, it appears that will put a bow on his Red Raider career.  That’s because in May he announced that he is leaving the coaching profession.

"“I would like to announce that I will no longer be coaching and will put my focus and ambition in the realms of the corporate world,” Ross said. “Coaching has been a blessing and I’m confident in my capabilities to be great at it, but I’ve always been intrigued by business and I’m simply just motivated to conquer a new quest and pursue something different!”"

That decision came at the end of Ross’ second season as a graduate assistant coach under Chris Beard.  Of course, in that time, Ross was part of the program’s first-ever Final Four team further cementing his legacy as an all-time Red Raider great.

As most already know, Ross had quite the journey as a Red Raider.   Arriving as a walk-on in 2001-02, he was forced to fight for everything that came his way on the South Plains.  But that experience helped him impart some wisdom on the current crop of Texas Tech basketball standouts.

"“I’m able to share my experience with them,” Ross told the Avalanche-Journal in 2019. “I know what they’re going through, I’ve been in those same shoes. And a lot of this is new experiences: learning how to take the coaching, understanding how to handle adversity. I really just try to share my experience as a player, and really be a mentor having played myself.”"

Though Ross may be heading into the corporate world, basketball will likely always be in his blood.  After all, he grew up in a basketball hotbed.

Hobbs is as close as here is in the southwest to a public school basketball factory.   For decades, the Eagles have produced several Red Raiders including Tony Benford, Jeff Taylor, and Kent Williams, all of whom were taken in the NBA Draft.

And Ross credits his time playing for New Mexico’s most storied program when talking about his success as a collegiate and a professional (he played 13 seasons overseas).

"“Being brought up in the press in Hobbs, you gotta play at a high tempo. Knowing that tempo already I think I was smarter at the game in college. When you’re in the heat of battle you start to react through experience and that’s what I got from the Hobbs system,” Ross told his hometown paper, the Hobbs News-Sun, in 2019."

But while we are sad to see Ross leave Texas Tech University, he will remain a beloved figure in the annals of Red Raider hoops.  So let’s go back and look at five games that defined his Red Raider career because his contributions to the program are worth celebrating.

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