Basketball: Ross out to catch foes off guard

Otago Nuggets guard James Ross has spent most of his life shooting over the top of taller players.

The 20-year-old has three older brothers and, wouldn't you know it, they are all taller.

At just 1.82m - diminutive by basketball standards - Ross got his basketball education banging bodies with his siblings in the front yard of the family home from the age of 5.

He played for John McGlashan College and club side St Kilda Saints, but two years ago he stepped into the big league, when he made his debut for the Nuggets.

The season did not go so well, with Otago losing 16 of its 18 games.

Ross found himself up against some of the country's best guards, marking the likes of Hayden Allen, Michael Fitchett, Paul Henare and Lindsay Tait.

It was a huge learning curve for the then 18-year-old, but a valuable experience.

"I went up against a lot of really good point guards that year," Ross explained.

"And I was playing against guys who were a lot stronger than me and it was really good to learn from them."

The Nuggets were not part of the league last year, so Ross was limited to playing club basketball.

But with the franchise back in the league, he is looking to apply what he learned two years ago.

"I think I'm a lot better under pressure than I used to be and I have a lot more confidence.

"And my shot is a lot better, too."

The Nuggets came unstuck in their comeback game against the highly-rated Harbour Heat in Auckland on Saturday night.

A poor first quarter left them trailing 34-17, but the visitors rallied to close within five points by half-time.

The Heat was too strong in the final quarter and pulled away to win 99-82.

The Nuggets' two American imports, Antoine Tisby and Tyler Amaya, scored 57 of the team's 82 points and Ross was the only other player to get into double digits with 10 points.

Despite the comprehensive loss, the University of Otago student believes the Nuggets showed promising signs.

"We dug a hole in the first quarter but we did really well to come back from that.

"I think we showed a lot of fight and that was really encouraging."

A fan of Phoenix Suns point guard and two-time NBA most valuable player Steve Nash, Ross would like to hold his own "against the best point guards in the league" and make it as difficult for them as possible.

He would also like to score at least 20 points in one game and crack 10 assists.

But in the meantime he is concentrating on keeping his turnovers down to about two a game and focusing on the game against the Christchurch Cougars in Dunedin on Saturday.