I understand part of what you're saying, but for example, given that Ross has a good shot and great athleticism (as you mentioned), what is the logic to having Novak in there? All Novak does is stand in the corner hoping for a pass, while Ross has great mobility, if told he could stay at the 3 point line and gather attention, or run to the basket and draw some contact/finish. In summary, Novak just stands there, and TR can at least run around the line which is much harder to control.
Then there's defense, I don't want to sound pretentious but anyone could have committed the foul to give, I'm certain that Casey being a good coach was screaming that the foul was a possibility, and players were probably ready. Overrated or not, Ross is a GOOD man-to-man defender, and the best we have; if Salmons was known for his D I wouldn't object to putting him in the game over the sophomore, but sadly, he isn't.