Earnest Ross

Early life

Ross was born in the Pacific Islands county of Guam to Earnest Sr. and Toy Sue Miller Ross, both of whom were United States Navy workers at the time. Ross moved around a lot as a child, living in Guam, Hawaii and Japan before his parents split up in 1996 when Ross was five. Toy subsequently left the military after 15 years because she was working 12-hour shifts and could not spend enough time with her children. Ross then moved to Washington state with his mother and his younger brother, Jamel. His mother struggled to find work, sending her children during the summers to live in Texas and Maryland with their father, who was still traveling from base to base in the military and made enough money to support them.

When Ross was eight, he moved to Chicago where the family of three first moved in with Toy's sister for a year and a half, before Toy and her sons finally got their own apartment. It was a struggle for Toy, however, as she was required to maintain multiple jobs to provide for herself and her sons. To make matters worse, they lived in a rough neighborhood and were eventually evicted from their apartment and had to move in with Toy's mother.

Ross and his family eventually settled down in Chicago and he and his brother attended a local school on the south side of the city. Ross always took care of his brother no matter what, and felt he had to be a role model for him. In addition to walking with him to school and cooking at just nine-years-old, Ross would force his brother to pray every morning and night. He would reassure him that their current situation was only temporary, and in order for them to get out, they had to ask God for help.

When Ross was 12, he and his brother moved from Chicago to Washington, D.C. to live with their father when their mother was unable to support them. She went to court and made an agreement with her ex-husband that the children would be returned after a year and a half, enough time to get back on her feet. She lived and worked by herself in Chicago and then moved to North Carolina where her two sons would soon join her and attend high school.

High school career

Ross attended Panther Creek High School in Cary, North Carolina where he played for coach L. J. Hepp. As a junior in 2007–08, he earned All-State Class 4A honors after averaging 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game.

On November 13, 2008, Ross signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Auburn University.

As a senior at Panther Creek in 2008–09, Ross earned All-State Class 4A honors for the second straight year and was named the Tri-Eight Conference Player of the Year after averaging 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. He was also the leading scorer in the North Carolina vs. South Carolina All-Star Game with 16 points and had a team-high 10 rebounds.

Auburn (2009–2011)

As a freshman at Auburn in 2009–10, Ross averaged 2.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game. He shot 28 percent from the field, 22 percent from three-point range and 64 percent from the foul line. He also started eight of 32 games, including the first seven games of the season in place of injured Tay Waller, becoming the first Auburn freshman to start a season opener since Quantez Robertson, Josh Dollard and Joey Cameron started the 2005–06 season opener.

As a sophomore in 2010–11, Ross was the SEC's most-improved scorer, elevating his point production from 2.8 points per game as a freshman to 13.1 points as a sophomore. He finished the year leading Auburn in rebounding 14 times, including a career-high 13 boards against Alabama on January 22, 2011. He was subsequently named Auburn's Most Valuable Player for the 2010–11 season. In 31 games (27 starts), he also averaged 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 31.8 minutes per game.

Missouri (2011–2014)

On May 25, 2011, it was announced that Ross was leaving Auburn in pursuit of playing college basketball elsewhere. On June 21, 2011, he signed a grant-in-aid agreement with the University of Missouri and subsequently redshirted the 2011–12 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

As a redshirted junior at Missouri in 2012–13, Ross was the top scorer in the Southeastern Conference off the bench, averaging 11.0 points on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 41.7 percent shooting from three-point range in 24 contests off the pine. Overall, he finished the year averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

As a senior in 2013–14, Ross ranked third on the team in minutes per game (31.9) and was second with 57 three-point makes. He also ranked second in rebounding and was the team leader with 46 total steals. In 35 games (all starts), he averaged 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Perth Wildcats (2014–2015)

On September 10, 2014, Ross signed a three-year deal with the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League. After going scoreless in the Wildcats' first two games of the 2013–14 season, Ross recorded his first career points in the Wildcats' 84–63 win over the Sydney Kings on October 24. He finished the game with 7 points on 1-of-5 shooting and 5-of-5 free throws. A week later, he played his best game of the season, recording 13 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist in the Wildcats' 83–64 win over the Wollongong Hawks. His second-best game of the season came on December 18 against the Kings, recording 10 points and 8 rebounds in a 78–74 loss.

On January 9, 2015, after less than 30 seconds on the court, Ross suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury late in the first quarter of the Wildcats' 91–76 loss to the Cairns Taipans. In 18 games for the Wildcats, he averaged 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

On May 14, 2015, the Wildcats released Ross after deciding to not register a contract for him for 2015–16.

On October 31, 2015, Ross was selected by the Santa Cruz Warriors in the fourth round of the 2015 NBA Development League Draft. He joined the team four days later for the start of training camp. However, he was waived on November 10, prior to the start of the regular season.

Ballarat Miners (2016–)

On December 15, 2015, Ross signed with the Ballarat Miners for the 2016 SEABL season.

Personal

Ross is very close to his mother and brother. He is also close with his aunts, uncles and cousins. In contrast, he acknowledges that he still loves and cares for his father but he doesn't have the close bond with him that he shares with his mother. Still active in the military as of 2012, Earnest Sr. remarried twice after divorcing Toy, and has two more children. Ross states that when he has kids, he'll always be there for them and always be around.

Ross has many tattoos that form an underlying framework of his life story. Some remind him of the struggles he and his brother went through, while some remind him of what he values most. The words Toy Miller are separately tattooed on his wrists, something that serves as a constant reminder of the one person in his world he owes everything to.

Ross is a Christian and he states being raised by a mother with a strong Christian faith plays an important role in all of his actions.