Terrence Ross confident in camp following injured season with Orlando Magic

Terrence Ross has worked hard to get himself ready and healthy for training camp. He is confident he will be ready to go and anxious for the games to start.

Terrence Ross has not had a lot of time away from basketball. Certainly not since entering the NBA.

While that bugaboo over his consistency and his place in the starting lineup has always followed him around, he was always a reliable player. Even if he was not scoring as much as some people might want, he always found a way to contribute and provide value.

His health was as important as anything else. Ross never played fewer than 73 games in any season before last year.

That changed when a player landed awkwardly into him and he fractured his leg in late November against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ross’ season essentially ended that day minus a pair of appearances in the team’s final three games.

Ross is back now. Fully healthy.

He spent most of his summer working out in Orlando to get ready for the season. But most of all, he was just eager to get playing and get back on the court with his teammates.

All that anxiousness and anticipation will come to a point Monday when he hits the floor once again in an exhibition game. But like his return late last season, training camp is a step in the process of his recovery.

A recovery that is essentially over except to prove that it is behind him to the public.

"“My confidence is there,” Ross said after practice Wednesday. “I just haven’t played in a long time I feel like. I’m anxious and more excited to go out and play and do what I do. It’s no lack of confidence in me. I feel more confident than I have my whole career so far. Just getting ready, it’s just going to be fun when I get out there.”"

For a player like Ross recovering from a major injury, it is definitely something the team has to watch. Both Terrence Ross and Jonathon Simmons are coming back from major injuries. Jonathon Simmons missed most of the summer recovering from wrist surgery. He was only cleared to play basketball again a few weeks ago.

Coach Steve Clifford said for both players it is important that they communicate how they are feeling to the training staff to ensure they can get through camp while still continuing the late stages of their recoveries.

Clifford said Ross has had a lingering foot issue that he has played throughout camp. The team is keeping an eye on it and working not to push him too hard. But it is not serious enough to hold him out of camp.

Clifford said Ross has played very well so far and has participated in all the drills and scrimmages the team has done to this point. He added Simmons has also participated fully in camp so far, using the conditioning work he was able to do while injured to his advantage as he builds his basketball skills back up.

So far, Clifford said, both are playing well and contributing to the foundation the team is trying to build.

"“I feel like [Ross is] in a very good place,” Clifford said. “I think he has been around enough that he has a good idea of what he needs to do to get ready. A lot of it is talking to him and seeing how he feels. It’s always the right amount of work — enough so that you can come back tomorrow and have a good day but also so that he is getting into rhythm.”"

Still, the proof will be in how they play and the confidence they display during games. Both Simmons and Ross will be vital to the team’s performance this year. And both have impressed Clifford so far, he said.

The Orlando Magic certainly missed Ross in an otherwise down year for him — 8.7 points per game and a career-low 47.6 percent effective field goal percentage in just 24 appearances. His defense and floor spacing were critical parts in the team’s hot 8-4 start.

His ability to do all those little things defensively as a help defender and space the floor as a potential shooter made life a lot easier for the team. While things were already heading south before his injury, the team missed him a lot as they tried to recover.

Ross was eager to get back on the court all throughout that process. At one point in January last season, he told the media he was close to returning only for a new injury to his leg suffered in practice 3-on-3 games to put him back on the shelf.

He should be someone hungry to get back out onto the floor.

"“I’ve never been out of basketball that long ever,” Ross said during Media Day. “It kind of humbled me and helped put everything in perspective and kind of gave me the opportunity to get back in the gym and work. I wanted to feel healthy. The last couple games of the year gave me more confidence in how I could play and feel good. It was just maximizing that in the summertime.”"

The Magic will get to see what they have in Ross, just like they will get to see what they have in everyone, once the preseason starts Monday in Philadelphia.

For Ross, it is a long-awaited day. A day when he finally completes that long journey back and all the hard work comes to its full fruition. All those long hours — sometimes coming to the Amway Center twice in one day and plopping his kids in front of a computer inside the weight room while he gets up some more shots nearby on the practice court — finally bring some results.

Ross is an extremely valuable player to the Magic. One that will be essential to the team’s ultimate success this year.

"“It’s a big season for all of us,” Ross said. “We all had a down season last year. Nobody ever wants to end off anything on that type of note. I think it’s a good opportunity for everybody to show what they can do. The way we’ve been working so far is a good indication for us to put all that work to good use in that first game. I think it will all come together.”"

Until then, he will just have to keep waiting and keep working until the chance to get back on the floor comes around again.