Marquette Golden Eagles sophomore guard Chase Ross was a bench player this season for head coach Shaka Smart. With Marquette losing to the North Carolina State Wolfpack 67-58 in the Sweet 16, it is time to start thinking about the 2024-2025 season.
With Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro expected to leave due to graduation, Ross can very well be one of the projected starters alongside Ben Gold, Kam Jones, David Joplin, and Stevie Mitchell next season. Marquette will still be a force in the Big East Conference because head coach Shaka Smart has a deep basketball team.
Ross as a sophomore last season averaged 6.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.4 BPG, and 1.3 SPG for the Marquette Golden Eagles. He shot 42.5% from the field and also shot 36.2% from three-point land last season for Marquette. Ross also averaged 21.8 minutes per game last season and expects that number to skyrocket when he becomes one of the starters next season.
Ross did not have many games this season where he scored in double digits, but he will have a chance to do that often next season. In the NCAA Tournament against the Colorado Buffaloes in the second round, he scored 12 points off the bench and made two threes.
In the Big East Tournament when Tyler Kolek was out, he stepped up against the Villanova Wildcats in the overtime win and scored 11 points and also knocked down two threes in that matchup.
Marquette Golden Eagles Chase Ross Is Primed To Break Out Next Season
With Kam Jones and David Joplin being the top two scorers returning next season and with Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro departing, they will need to find replacements for Kolek and Ighodaro in the scoring department. Kolek and Ighodaro meant so much to this basketball program over the past four years and they are going to be missed big time not only in the scoring department but in other aspects of the game of basketball as well.
Chase Ross has the potential to average double-digit points per game next season because of how many threes he can potentially take for them. He also shot 77.1% from the free-throw line this season.
Ross also provides energy at the defensive end of the floor. He’s going to have to be the breakout player that Marquette needs next year if they are going to want to compete in a tough Big East Conference. Ross has gotten better each year with the basketball program. The third year spells a potential breakout for him.
