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As a sophomore, Lehigh's Kahron Ross named a captain

10/29/2015, 4:20pm EDT
By Stephen Pianovich & Josh Verlin

Lehigh's Kahron Ross was named a captain as a sophomore.

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Lehigh head coach Brett Reed relies on his team captains to help reinforce the messages and lessons he gives the Mountain Hawks on a daily basis.

In selecting Kahron Ross as one of three captains for this season, Reed is sending a message right to his sophomore point guard.

After winning the Patriot League Rookie of the Year award, leading all freshmen nationally with 5.8 assists per game, the Jonesboro, Ark. native has to do more by just lead by example.

“Kahron by nature of his position has on-the-floor leadership responsibilities,” Reed said. “We will continue to try to encourage Kahron to become more vocal and continue to evolve in the leadership realm.”

Ross is the youngest of the Mountain Hawks’ three captains, which also includes junior center and defending Patriot League Player of the Year Tim Kempton as well as senior guard Devon Carter.

Considering his impressive freshman season, Ross admitted he had a feeling it was a possibility, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying the moment he found out.

“Usually it's upperclassmen in this position, and being a sophomore, I was excited," he said. "I know it's going to bring on extra responsibility, but I think I'm prepared for it."

He’s the first sophomore to be named captain at the Bethlehem school since C.J. McCollum was also one of three captains for the 2010-11 season.

Like Ross, McCollum also won Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors the prior year--and that’s about where the similarities end.

McCollum, a 6-3 shooting guard, was also the league’s Player of the Year as a freshman, leading all freshmen nationally at 19.1 ppg that season. He’s now in his third year in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, for whom he dropped 37 points on opening night last night.

"Both C.J. and Kahron share a common trait and that's being named captain as a sophomore,” Reed said. “From past experience with C.J., we came to the realization that he had athletic talent and the ability to influence a team, but his maturation as a vocal leader did not take place until a little bit later in his career.”

Having Kempton and Carter alongside him will certainly help ease Ross’s transition towards being an “official” leader of the team, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t taking the role seriously.

As he continues to improve his own game and body in preparation for Lehigh’s first game of the season, a big opportunity against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on Nov. 13, he’s got to be cognizant of those around him at all times.

“I have to realize when I do something, my teammates are going to look to me,” he said. “Whatever my facial expressions are, or something like that, that will give them the idea of what it should be like. So I have to be aware of stuff like that."


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