Former England Under-18 Ross Wilson (1993 born) has signed a Letter of Intent to attend NCAA Division 1 school Rice University next season.
The athletic 6’7″ forward, who has been developed through the Newcastle Eagles programme under the guidance of Marc Steutel and Fab Flournoy, spent this season playing for Northumbria Division 2 side, whilst also making his BBL debut with the Eagles. However, more recently he has been sidelined with a knee injury.
Talking to Hoopsfix on his decision to attend Rice and his injury rehab he said:
“I chose Rice as it has a great reputation academically but also it gives me the opportunity to play D1 basketball within a competitive schedule.
“I’m hoping to be healthy in the next few weeks and although I’m missing some valuable playing time at BBL and important games for Northumbria, I’ve made being healthy for when I leave my priority.”
Wilson added he has been working with strength and conditioning coach Chris Bunten to focus on getting stronger in preparation for the jump to Division 1 basketball whilst also trying to improve his perimeter shooting.
Talking to the Chronicle about losing one of their rising young stars, Newcastle Eagles owner Paul Blake said:
“He has a four-year scholarship and goes with our full blessing. The link was made via (Newcastle Eagles player) Paul Gause, believe it or not.
“It is a fantastic opportunity and although we’d obviously like to keep a player of his ability and calibre, Ross has worked very hard to get this chance.”
Wilson averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for England at the 2011 U18 Division B European Championships in Bulgaria, with his best performance coming against Belgium where he had 11 points and 13 rebounds on 5/7 shooting in 22 minutes.
Hoopsfix wants to wish Ross all the best with his college career – we will be following!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Surely he is ineligible if he played Pro BBL? NCAA Regulations. “An individual shall not be eligible for intercollegiate athletics in a sport if the individual ever participated on a team and knew (or had reason to know) that the team was a professional team”
Nope – “Unlike previous NCAA rules, prospective student athletes (those starting college in 2010 or after) are now allowed to play on a professional team or with professionals, as long as they do not receive benefits that are over reasonable expenses, and so long as the player plays within the time of formal education towards graduation, or during the one year after graduation.”
Check the eligibility document in the resources section of the site here”
http://www.hoopsfix.com/resources/basketball-players/
Good luck to Ross, I’m sure he’s doing what’s best for him. Rice is an excellent academic institution so he will have the opportunity to get a first rate education.
Just to correct Paul Blake on one point, nobody receives a 4 year scholarship in the NCAA, it’s one year that is renewed annually. It hopefully won’t be an issue but the university has the right to let any scholarship athlete go at the end of an academic year. This was highlighted recently in the case of Wisconsin player who wanted to transfer.
On a broader point this is exactly the sort of young talent that needs to be retained in our domestic league if basketball is ever to have any hope of growing into a commercially viable sport in this country.