National Post (National Edition)
T-Ross makes his return to Toronto
‘He hasn’t hit his ceiling yet,’ says Casey
TORONTO • The basketball enigma better known as Terrence Ross returns to Toronto for the first time Monday night.
T-Ross was part T-Mac, part VC, only he didn’t mature into the player many had projected.
Like Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter, Ross loved his time in Toronto.
Unlike McGrady and Carter, Ross won’t be booed by the Raptors’ fans.
Only time will tell whether Ross ever realizes his potential as a member of the Orlando Magic, but his former Raptors’ teammates are pulling for him.
Ross, who was considered the sixth man in Toronto, was dealt to the Magic on Feb. 14 for veteran Serge Ibaka.
The veteran Ibaka has been a major contributor since joining the Raptors and Saturday’s 94-86 win over the Dallas Mavericks was more of the same with Ibaka and DeMar DeRozan each scoring 18 points to lead the way. With the win, the Raptors improved to 44-29 (second in the Atlantic Division) and officially secured a spot in the post-season.
“Skinny, real quiet and I saw him turn into a real player,’’ said DeRozan of Ross. “I talked to his father. He’s (Ross) is a great friend, and was a great teammate.”
DeRozan and Ross would often go mano a mano in practices, but Monday marks the first time each will oppose one another in a game.
“He’ll be in a different jersey and it’ll be interesting,’’ said DeRozan.
DeRozan has followed Ross since he became a member of the Magic.
“He seems like he’s still an aggressive scorer going out there and not shying away from the opportunity,’’ added DeRozan.
When Ross was rolling, his presence allowed the likes of DeRozan to operate in space. Defences were forced to defend the perimeter with Ross making three-balls.
His jumper is fluid and his body type is perfect for the NBA.
The issue with Ross was consistency, best summed up when he tied Carter’s franchise record for most points in game (51) against the Clippers and then needed roughly a week’s worth of games to reach that total combined.
When mentally engaged, Ross could defend most wing players on the perimeter.
“That he was an athletic player whose future was going to be great for him,’’ Raptors’ Dwane Casey said when asked about his first impression of Ross. “Fundamentally, he had a lot to learn and he did. He’s really developed into a mature player and he’s still growing. He hasn’t hit his ceiling yet, but I’ll cheer for Terrence, but not on Monday night.”
It was Casey who delivered the news to Ross of the trade.
“It was tough on both of us,’’ said the coach. “I was emotional, he was emotional and unfortunately that’s part of the business. You watch a young man come in as a young kid with his dogs and I remember one game where we were going to start him in an exhibition game and he had a stomach ache.
“And he couldn’t go. He had a rough start. Injuries, sickness, whatever it was. But again, I saw him grow every day. He got better. He had an opportunity to play early. He’s developed into the player he is now.”
The conversation Casey had with Ross was blunt and straight to the point.
“There’s no easy way,’’ added Casey about telling a player that he’s just been traded. “You tell him how he’s just been traded. It’s part of the business. Then we talked about how he started and where he is now and where his ceiling is. He’s going in the right direction.”
The Raptors were on the road in Chicago when Casey had his talk with Casey.
Just before the NBA deadline was about to expire, the team traded Jared Sullinger to Phoenix in exchange for P.J. Tucker. In the span of a week, Ibaka and Tucker were acquired.
“It was a tough week, but a good week for everybody involved and that’s when you consider it a good trade,’’ said Casey.
Ross now returns to the place where his NBA started.