‘A legend at Northeastern’: Brent Ross breaks former coach Tom Zell’s wins record

FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. — Believe it or not, 30-some years ago, Brent Ross rocked a mullet and gold chains while he walked the hallways of Northeastern High School.

“I was that guy back in ’87,” Ross said with a laugh. “I had hair back then.”

That look was always short-lived, however, as then-coach Tom Zell would make him cut his hair come basketball season. Zell would tug on Ross’ hair at school during the offseason and ask if his barber died. For Zell, it was all about image.

“I think a lot of it was just appearance as far as getting the community to be proud of what the team looks like out there on the court,” Zell said before chuckling at how much things have changed since then.

Sectional boys basketball:Breaking down Wayne County teams’ matchups a week ahead

Zell was also the coach who told his players to stay away from parties, or any other fun, potentially risky activities high school kids can’t get enough of for that matter. His strict coaching style wasn’t the most popular — Ross admitted his former coach wasn’t exactly his favorite person in the world when he graduated — but it was effective, and it led to Zell becoming the Knights’ all-time winningest coach.

But this story isn’t about Zell, owner of the most wins in Northeastern boys’ basketball history. It could have been the story in early January, back when that last sentence was still accurate. No, no, this story is about Ross, the player-turned-coach who surpassed his now-mentor, who was proudly watching from the stands when it happened.

Related:Northeastern basketball sweeps Wayne County Tournament, and ‘no,’ it doesn’t get old

‘So proud of Brent’

Ross began this season with 221 wins at the helm of the Knights’ program, just 11 away from tying Zell’s record, but he had no idea. The only reason he knew he was getting close was because “somebody let it slip” earlier in the year.

“We don’t play for the records,” Ross said. “We don’t play for accolades. We play as a team, and we’re trying to accomplish an unknown, which is to win the state tournament.”

Doesn’t change the fact that a record was about to be broken.

After an 11-3 start to the season, Northeastern had a tough matchup against Blue River Valley Jan. 21, and Zell was in attendance. Again, Ross wasn’t keeping track, but as soon as he saw his former coach, he knew his next win would either tie or break the record.

“It meant a lot that he was there. It always means a lot when he shows up,” Ross said. “He is a legend at Northeastern.”

That night was Northeastern’s only home game for the next two weeks, so if Ross wanted to make history in front of his home crowd, that was the night to do it.

The Knights trailed by five at halftime but stormed back in the fourth quarter for a 50-47 win, the record-setting 233^rd win of Ross’ career at Northeastern.

'Championship or nothing':Knights fall in sectional final, continue successful tradition

“That was really amazing. So proud of Brent. I was happy he did it,” Zell said. “If you know him and know how hard he worked as a player, he just put in a lot of time outside of what we did here at school and really worked hard to make himself the player he was. His coaching career has been the same way. He’s really worked at developing the program into something the whole community should be proud of.”

The two met on the court after the game, and the smile on Ross’ face was about as big as you’ve ever seen it. He said that was because he was proud of his team for earning a hard-fought win. While there’s no doubt that’s true, there may have been a couple other contributors to that smile.

His players were waiting for him in the locker room. As soon as Ross turned the corner, assistant coach Brian Maurer pushed him into the mosh pit, and the players doused him with their water bottles.

“He’s built a program here that’s been pretty successful over the last 10 years now,” senior point guard Keaton Mikesell said. “It’s good to see his success as a coach and all the successes from our team.”

'We're the champions':Northeastern claims another TEC title on senior night

‘You don’t have to like me, but you’re going to respect me’

Ross played for three “very good” coaches who have “a lot” of influence on how he runs his program today. First was Zell at Northeastern. Next, Ross played at Gulf Coast State College in Florida for the late Jim Oler, who was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame this year. Ross then came back to Indiana to finish his playing days under Barret Bates at Anderson University.

Ross’ teams are physical, hard-nosed, defensive-minded and focus on the fundamentals, and that’s thanks to his former coaches. He called Zell one of the best fundamental coaches he’s ever played for. Zell said he can tell Ross runs some of the same practice drills he did years ago just by watching the team play, “things an average fan doesn’t see out there on the court.”

It’s ironic. Ross was a scorer, and he didn’t always understand Zell’s ways. Once he played for a couple other coaches just like Zell, he understood the why.

“When I graduated, I didn’t understand some of the things (Zell) did, how hard he was on me, why he made me cut my hair, stuff like that. I went off to college, played for some other tough coaches, came back and told him ‘I respect you more than anything,’” Ross said. “I tell the players all the time ‘You don’t have to like me, but you’re going to respect me.’”

His current seniors understand that. They’ve gone through the same tough practices and the same butt-chewings that Ross did, but it’s all been for the betterment of themselves and the team.

“If you don’t hate your coach at times, he’s not coaching you right,” senior forward Caleb Harmon said, “but I love the dude to death.”

“You’re going to have your times where you absolutely hate him, but at the end of the day, he’s there for you, he’s got your back and he’s going to push you to try and get the best out of you,” Mikesell echoed. “I can’t thank him any more for pushing me to where I’m at.”

Keaton and Ava:The ‘carbon copy’ Mikesells lead Northeastern basketball to success

Ross pushes his players to win. Hard. And he can do that because of the way his program is set up from the high school level all the way down to elementary school.

It starts with Chris and Vanessa Curtis, who run the elementary programs. At that level, it’s not all about basketball. Basketball is the foundation, yes, but by the time those kids get to high school, Ross doesn’t have to worry about what kind of kids he’s getting. Northeastern doesn’t win a whole lot of elementary or junior high championships, opposed to the high school’s eight Tri-Eastern Conference titles in the last 10 years. That’s not where the focus is at an early age. The kids who go through this program become good people before they become good players. Ross takes care of the latter.

“Vanessa and Chris Curtis take pride in watching these kids grow up,” Ross said as he pointed them out in the crowd, joking that they’re not allowed to leave the program as long as he’s still there. “It’s not about wins and losses early.”

Earlier:Northeastern, Seton opening game is just a preview of both teams’ destined success

Once they reach Ross, however, it’s go time. This is Ross’ 14^th season coaching the Knights, and the last 10 have resulted in his team winning at least 15 games. They haven’t lost a TEC game since Feb. 21, 2020. It’s all about winning.

“(Records) are great when they happen, but they usually happen when you’re part of a great basketball team. Those shouldn’t be your ultimate goals, your ultimate goal should be to win,” Ross said. “Sometimes, a kid might not play the best, we still win and he’s frowning in the locker room. ‘Get that frown off there. We won tonight.’”

‘We really preach family at Northeastern’

There were a lot of people back in Larry Moore Gymnasium Feb. 17 for the Winchester game. Northeastern all-time leading scorer Tyler Smith, who played for Ross, came back for his jersey retirement ceremony, and the school honored members of the 1967-68 basketball and baseball teams.

'It's a movie':Northeastern basketball retires all-time leading scorer Tyler Smith’s number

Ross wasn’t expecting anything special after breaking the wins record — you could probably guess that by reading all his comments so far — but a surprise was coming. He saw Zell in the stands again, but he thought nothing of it this time. Zell coached at Winchester before Northeastern, so Ross figured he was there to watch his two former teams battle it out.

As Ross walked off the court following Smith’s ceremony, Zell was introduced carrying two commemorative basketballs. A curious grin came to Ross’ face as he realized what was happening.

“I was really surprised. You could tell. I said, ‘What are you guys up to now?’” Ross said with a laugh.

Northeastern recognized Ross for breaking the wins record, and again, he couldn’t take the smile off his face as he shared the moment with his former coach.

“He deserves it,” Smith said. “I might have scored all the points, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him putting me in those positions. He’s a great coach, he’s a great guy and I couldn’t see anybody more deserving than coach Ross to get that.”

There were generations of Knights celebrating generations of Knights in the gym that day. It was a homecoming of sorts. It’s been like that for years, and it all stems from the respect they all have for the programs.

Related:Northeastern basketball community remembers, honors late Richmond officer Seara Burton

“Some people worry about whether or not the people they’re working with like them,” Zell said. “I’m sure I may have stepped on a few toes along the way, but for the most part, I see guys who played for me still come up and talk to me. They don’t turn and go the other way.”

It’s been the same way for Ross. One of the first things Ross did after taking over was start compiling contact information for everyone who’s ever been part of Northeastern basketball. He would send out quarterly newsletters to update everyone on the state of the program. Over the last few years, Ross has had people he hasn’t talked to since the 1970s and ’80s reach out to thank and congratulate the team. He’s had former players return with their kids to show them their pictures in the hallway.

It’s bigger than just a basketball team, and that’s what Ross is most proud of.

“We really preach family at Northeastern,” Ross said. “I try to tell the kids ‘You’re part of something bigger than yourself. You’re part of a family that goes way back to you don’t even know’ … There are still some players I haven’t been able to see in a while, but I want them to come back and be proud of where they graduated. I want to welcome them all.”

Zach Piatt is a reporter for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Northeastern's Brent Ross breaks former coach Tom Zell’s wins record