In one of their first meetings last summer, Rex Kalamian finished working out Terrence Ross and shared something of an epiphany with him.

“I never realized how good you really are. You’re a really good basketball player, do you realize that? You have to realize it first,” the Raptors new assistant coach told the team’s young shooting guard.

“We only played this team two times a year when I was in the West (as an assistant with Oklahoma City),” Kalamian said Friday, long after the Raptors had cleared the court at the Air Canada Centre.

All of these months later, with the Raptors enjoying a record-setting 10-game winning streak, it’s starting to look like Ross is believing Kalamian’s assessment. Consistently inconsistent in his previous three years with the Raptors, Ross seems to be finding his way of late. The 24-year-old has scored in double-digits in six of his last eight games and shot the ball well, hitting 52.7 per cent of his shots through his last 10 games.

Ross isn’t one to sing his own praises, so his head coach, Dwane Casey, and Kalamian piped up on his behalf.

“One thing he’s doing, he’s putting in the extra work, staying after practice and working at a game-speed clip,” Casey said after Thursday’s win over the Knicks.

“So many guys come in after practice and go through the motions and that doesn’t get it done. Him and coach Kalamian are getting on the clock, going at a game speed . . . and that I think has changed his mojo, his rhythm and his shooting. His energy level has always been there defensively. The thing that was missing was his shooting, but now his shot is going in. It didn’t show (against New York, where he was 2-for-9) but recently his shot’s been going in.”

Kalamian said every player is different when it comes to these extra sessions. DeMar DeRozan prefers form shooting and, as his all-star season demonstrates, that work is paying off. Kalamian and fellow Raptors assistant Nick Nurse suggested the game-speed sessions for Ross.

“What I try to do is just add a little something to the routine and show him different things that I see with his footwork on film,” Kalamian said. “I think players go through situations where all of a sudden they gain confidence and they like it.”

The goal is to keep Ross at this productive level.

“He’s a developing player, he’s not a finished product,” Kalamian said. “He probably has, in his career, about seven more big jumps.

“I keep telling him, ‘You’ve got so much potential that you’re not even getting into the game yet. Keep working, keep getting better. This level you’re at now is who you are and who you will be for a long period of time until you make your next jump.’ ”

His production off of the bench has been a huge part of this win streak. While the three-pointers and dunks get fans out of their seats, Ross’s defence has picked up as well. That’s at the core of what Casey wants to get from all of his players this year.

“The one thing I’ve asked him to do in games — and this is going to sound funny — is make two spectacular defensive plays a game,” Kalamian said.

“I want to see special defence two times a game. A great block from behind, a passing lane, a steal that turns into a dunk, ripping your man off the dribble, something that’s really special. If you can give us two plays like that, eventually it’s going to end up being four and then we’re going to ask for six.”

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That’s showing up, too. Ross had two blocked shots against the Knicks and four steals in Sunday’s win over the Clippers. On one of those plays, he anticipated a Chris Paul pass so well that when Paul turned to throw the ball, Ross had lunged above him and Paul threw the ball right into his arms.

“(Thursday) night he was 2-for-9, but plus-26,” Kalamian said. “That’s pretty good. We need you on the floor, not just because of your offensive ability, but even on nights when you’re not making shots you’re still a positive and you’re still a plus for our team. Be a basketball player, not just a shooter.”