Australian NBA player Ben Simmons has put his foot injury behind him Credit:Daniel Pockett "But I've never had to shoot the ball as much so now it's a different level but I'm very confident in what I need to do." Simmons also declared he will have no restrictions on him once he hits training camp with his foot healed and body strong. "Nothing. I'm ready to go," Simmons declared on Sunday at his Ben Simmons Camp at Boroondara Sports Complex. This off-season the Sixers have added another No 1 pick in point guard Markelle Fultz and veteran shooter JJ Redick while emerging stars Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Robert Covington have continued to develop.

This leaves the question about whether Simmons can make an immediate impact or whether he will take time to develop into an NBA star. Simmons has been through a rollercoaster year but the disappointments of sitting out haven't dimmed his self belief. "I'm feel good. I'm ready to go," Simmons said. "A lot of people maybe doubt me now but I'm ready to come back stronger and get to work." He said the worst times were soon after the injury.

"Once it happened I was down for a while," Simmons said. "But as soon as I had the surgery I went into the gym the next day and it was like that for every week, month and day - the whole time I was getting back for this next season," Simmons said. "It has been tough but I have learned a lot from it." While Simmons has embraced time with his family, who played a major role in running the sold out camp, he has also been training daily. "I remember when I was this age and going to camps like this - I felt a responsibility to take care of the kids and look out for them," Simmons said.

"I look at it like I am blessed to be in this position and do things like this. "I love the game so I'm always in the gym and playing - anytime I can teach someone something then I'm willing to do that." Aside from family time Simmons took in the Collingwood and Melbourne Demons AFL game on Saturday watching former Vic Metro basketball teammate Christian Petracca and visited Melbourne Zoo. He also made a late decision to suit up for a mate's domestic team at Diamond Valley last week with the video from the game going viral.

Simmons expected it would get some attention and he said he was only asked to play "two or three hours" before tip off which he said allowed him time to get permission to play. "I knew because my friend told his friends and I told him not to tell anybody else but obviously somebody told somebody because there was 200 or 300 people there," Simmons said. "It got out pretty quickly. I think people made a bigger deal of it then it was - to me I was just going to have some fun and shoot around. Everyone else was like "Ben is coming back to play" but it was all good fun." The Ben Simmons Camp had a 250 child waiting list and Simmons plans to run more camps in future. Dave Simmons and other past NBL stars Damon Lowry, Willie Simmons, Warrick Giddey and Brian Vaughns were among the camp coaches on Sunday.

On Monday Simmons flies back to Philadelphia with training camp soon to begin and the Sixers first preseason game against Memphis Grizzlies in Philly on October 5. "It was good to be back here, clear my mind for a little bit and focus on enjoying time with my family," Simmons said.