ORLANDO – As Terrence Ross walks off the Orlando Magic’s practice court following another grueling offseason workout and with sweat pouring down his brow, he expresses his fatigue.
It’s not the vigorous training routine that has the 27-year-old versatile swingman drained, it’s the thought of facing a season similar to the last one that’s the driving force behind his aggressive workout sessions.
Instead, he wants this year to be different.
From a personal standpoint, Ross is looking to improve upon a season in which he missed 4 ½ months and 57 games due to an MCL sprain and a tibial plateau fracture in his right leg.
His game plan to accomplish such a feat is simple, treat the summer like there is no offseason.
“He’s done a consistent amount of work this entire offseason, not just with us, but with his personal trainers as well,” said Magic High Performance Director David Tenney. “The consistency of doing stuff multiple times per week, coming here at night and doing stuff on his own, the consistent workload from the beginning of June until now, is really starting to pay off and you can see that he’s really looked a lot sharper.”
His improved conditioning and efforts in the weight room have translated on the court. In a pick-up game featuring some of his teammates and players from various teams and leagues around the globe, Ross shines. In one stretch, he knocks down six consecutive shots from various parts of the floor – a pair of threes, two midrange jumpers, a slam and a transition finish at the rim.
“Every day – he’s come in on a couple of Saturdays,” Magic Head Coach Steve Clifford said. “He’s really committed himself. I think his conditioning level is good, but his game is getting into rhythm, you can see it when he works out and you can see it when they play.”
Although this will be Clifford’s first opportunity to work with Ross, the coach is very familiar with his game. Ross is a player that’s been highlighted on his pregame scouting sheets for a long time, first as an explosive sixth man in Toronto and then as a two-way threat in Orlando.
“First of all, coaching against him for years, he was somebody that was on the scouting report, he’s on the board,” Clifford explained. “When he came into the game, if you let him get away from you he can have a big night, so it was important that when he came into the game that the antennas went up and you had to be coordinated defensively.”
While personal success would be more than welcomed by Ross, especially in a contract year, his hope is that his hard work has bigger impact.
“It’s always a big year any time your contract is coming to an end,” Ross explained. “You just want to go out there know that you’re 100 percent and play as well as you can, play with confidence and more importantly, help the team win.
In order to accomplish that goal, Ross is well aware that the Magic must start laying down the foundation now.
“I just want to win,” Ross said. “I just want to go out there and show everybody that we can play, that we’re a good team, and right now we have to put in the work to get there.”
Now considered a veteran at this stage of his career on a young Orlando squad, Ross was impressed by the moves the Magic made this offseason. First by hiring Clifford, who he considers “one of the marquee coaches in the league” and second by drafting center Mo Bamba, whose defense he believes will help “set the tempo and set the theme of the night.”
The tone he’s referring to is one centered around aggressiveness and intensity.
“We have to have that dog in us that we’re not going to fold under pressure,” Ross explained. “We have to punch people in the mouth. We have to set the tone, no matter who we’re playing. I think that’s the biggest thing that I want everybody to have this year.”
If the Magic bring that attitude to the floor, Ross may just get to see his offseason visions become a regular season reality.