Billy Donovan: Terrance Ferguson "Plays Within Himself"

After losing his starting job to Lu Dort in January the Thunder's Terrance Ferguson has a chance to reclaim his spot and help Oklahoma City Advance in the playoffs.

Outside of Andre Roberson, no one on the Thunder's roster has had a more trying season than Terrance Ferguson.  What started as a year of promise when the Thunder exercised the fourth year on his contract saw Ferguson go through a custody battle for his daughter, take an eight-game leave of absence, avoid rape charges and lose his starting job to rookie Luguentz Dort. 

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Now, Ferguson has a chance to write one of the best comeback stories in the NBA. While we have been focused on Dort's contract, Roberson getting healthy and Darius Bazley's love for the weight room, Billy Donovan has let us know that Ferguson could be a factor when the season resumes in August. 

"I think the biggest thing with Terrance is his reliability."..."You know you're gonna get a guy who's gonna be really really locked in defensively."

"He's great pursuing over pick and rolls, he's great pursuing against screens, he has length."..."(On the offensive end of the floor) He plays within himself, he tries to do things he knows he's capable of doing." 

"When you put him out there you know what you're getting."..."You're gonna get great effort on defense, you're gonna get great pursuit, great motor."

"He's gonna take good shots, he's gonna try and make the right play."..."He's gonna play inside the framework of what we're trying to do as a team, he's gonna play inside the framework of what he's capable of and he's gonna play to his strengths and I think that's certainly a great quality for someone like Terrance."

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While Dort has started in 21 games and Roberson's status is more favorable than it has been in two seasons, Donovan says he's not committed to putting any of the stoppers in the starting lineup. Does mean the door is open for Ferguson? 

Coming off the bench, Ferguson has gotten as many as 26 minutes in the Thunders 112-111 loss to Boston. After that, his time on the floor fluctuates based on who Oklahoma City is playing. 

Even though he's been starting, Dort says he takes a lot from what Ferguson and Roberson have to offer. "The only thing I'm trying to do is really learn from them because they've been in the league for a long time." 

Ferguson has the next few weeks to prove he's worthy of having his name called in the opening lineup. Just a week in he seems to be on the right path. 

   

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With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa.