VARESE, Italy - A familiar name in the Pepperdine men's basketball record books, 2021 graduate
Colbey Ross was named Lega Basket Serie A's Most Valuable Player award for the 2022-23 season in Italy on Thursday.
The point guard sits in good company on the list of previous MVP award winners, as 2022 NBA Hall of Fame inductee Manu Ginobli won the title twice in 2001 and 2002.
"What a great honor for Colbey Ross to receive," Pepperdine head coach Lorenzo Romar said. "Nothing surprises me with Colbey. He is such a hard worker and has such a strong belief and drive in himself- you just can't ever count him out."
Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is Italy's premiere basketball league, the highest-tier of nine professional leagues in the country. Ross's club, Pallacanestro Varese, has historically accumulated the third-most league championships (10) of the 16-total clubs that compete in the LBA.
"I'm so proud of him — he has not been distracted in reaching his goals, and I don't see this being the last award he will get," Romar said. "As long as Colbey Ross puts on a uniform in the game of basketball, he's going to continue to excel."
In his first year with Varese, the Waves' all-time leading scorer finished the regular season averaging 17.5 points, 7.5 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from beyond the arc. Ross also finished first in the LBA for fouls drawn (6.1 per contest), second in assists and third in scoring. In fact, the Aurora, Colorado-native recorded 27 total games in double figure scoring, including a 17-game streak in the 10+ points column, seven double-doubles and a single triple-double (30p/10r/13a).
"Winning the MVP is truly a team award and I'm just very thankful for my teammates and coaches for putting me in the position to be successful," Ross said. "I've really enjoyed every part of this season and have learned many life lessons here. Playing in Italy has been so different than anything I've experienced. The talent level is very high and the intensity of the games feels like a playoff game every time."
While in a Waves uniform, Ross became the first NCAA Division I men's basketball player to amass career totals of at least 2,200 points, 800 assists and 400 rebounds, all the while placing his name atop multiple Pepperdine record lists. Most notably, he set career bests in points (2,236), assists (854), assists per game (6.8), field goals attempted (1,582), free throws made (651), free throw percentage (84.7%), games started (125) and minutes played (4,424).
Ross graduated from Seaver College with a degree in sport administration in 2021 after leading the Waves to a CBI Championship earlier that year.
