Four-star F Jacob Ross officially signs with Minnesota

Four-star small forward Jacob Ross has officially signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. On Wednesday, the 6-foot-6 forward signed his letter of intent with the program, joining Philadelphia shooting guard Kai Shinsholster.

Ross committed to Minnesota at the end of the month over offers from Albany, Charleston, Coastal Carolina, Fordham, George Mason, Kansas State, Radford, Towson, Virginia Commonwealth, and Virginia Tech.

What Ben Johnson said about Ross

“We’re really excited to add Jacob Ross to our program,” Johnson said Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson said in a press release. "Jacob has great athleticism, size, length and versatility. Jacob has the ability to be one of the better defenders in our league. I love how he naturally competes and has always found ways to win. He brings a certain level of toughness out of high school and plays extremely hard. He fits in perfectly with our culture."

What Ross brings to the Gophers

The 6-foot-6, 170-pound Ross isn't afraid to get down and dirty under the basket and he's not afraid of pulling up from long distance either. Ross throughout his career thus far has shown the ability to make a scoring impact both in the paint below the basket and from long distance, proving to be an efficient three-point shooter.

While not a point guard, Ross does play with a point guard like mentality. No matter what type of night he may be having performance wise, the four-star forward brings continuous energy to the court and is looking to get his teammates involved.

“The thing that most of the schools like about me is that I bring a lot of energy,” Ross previously told Rivals. “Whether that’s on the glass, getting teammates involved, playing defense or whatever. My biggest thing is to go hard.”

That being said, Ross does have some positional versatility to his game as he is able to play either the 2 or 3 position at the next level.

Ross's energy is apparent on both ends of the court as well. While Ross is a capable scorer on the offensive side of the court, on the defensive side, he has been known to be an opportunistic turnover creator. The Virginia native has a knack for getting his hands on a ball and creating loose ball opportunities, he also has the necessary skill set to push those turnovers up court and into points on the other end.

The exciting part for Ross is that he's still very much developing his game. While he'll have the potential to play quite a bit as a true freshman once arriving in Minneapolis, there is still plenty of growth potential within his game. Combine that potential with his natural instincts on both ends of the court as well as his size and athleticism, and it's not hard to get excited about what the 6-foot-6 Ross could one day become for the Gophers.