“Yeah but at the same time it’s something that I have been working on,” he said. “Every day in practice I have got to guard DeMar (DeRozan). So learning how to guard him and learning what he does well on the offensive side of things, I think it’s helped me because it’s kind of teaching me two things at once — what to do on the offensive end and how to play certain guys on the defensive end. So I think I am just starting to catch onto things more quickly and putting certain things together.”
When the Raptors selected Ross with the No. 8 pick in June’s NBA Draft, the book on him noted that he was a strong outside shooter and solid defender but few words were written about his play above the rim. Ross said it has always been part of his game but that it is also coming to the forefront as the defences contest his dunks.
“I mean in college I got a lot of dunks and in high school I got a lot of dunks but people never really try to jump with you,” he said. “If they saw me about to dunk they would let me go but here it is a little different, people try to contest it sometimes.
“I guess I am just playing my game but I guess people are starting to catch onto it.”
While he has shown impressive hang-time, Ross seems reluctant to have his name entered into the dunk contest.
“I would do it if the opportunity presented itself but I don’t know,” Ross said. “It’s a tricky thing. It requires a lot of creativity nowadays it takes a lot — there’s not much people haven’t seen.”
