The 2.08m Huskies centre is back home in Dunedin on a break from the University of Washington.
The 19-year-old moved to Seattle to take up a basketball scholarship at the end of last year.
''When I went over there, I'd prepared for a bunch of things I didn't like about it and have some team-mates that I didn't get along with, but it has gone real smoothly,'' Timmins said.
The former junior Tall Black spent an initial period as a redshirt and made his debut for the team only on its pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand earlier this month.
It was a little frustrating but Timmins concentrated on conditioning and has shed 10kg.
He is turning out personal-bests in the gym and jumping higher, which certainly comes in handy when you are a post player.
''The shape that they've got me in is helping me play the best basketball of my life,'' he said.
The Huskies won three of their five tour games and Timmins made a steady improvement.
''It had been almost a year since I'd been in a scored game and on court with referees and all that. It took a while to get back into it.
''But I played hard once I was on the court and ended up getting more minutes every game, so that was the goal. I had a happy coach at the end of the tour.''
Timmins became the youngest athlete to play for the Nuggets when he made his debut off the bench as a 15-year-old in 2013. A stress fracture kept him on the sideline the following season and, when the Nuggets folded, Timmins moved to Christchurch to play for the Canterbury Rams in 2015.
But it was his wonderful effort for Otago Boys' High School in the 2014 final of the National Schools Championship which brought him the most recognition.
He scored 26 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to help seal victory with a thunderous performance, and was named tournament MVP.
But nothing Timmins could do on the court in New Zealand could adequately prepare him for college basketball in the United States.
''We [the Huskies] had a scrimmage just before we left for the tour and Marquese Chriss, the guy that just got drafted [in the NBA], and Isaiah Thomas, from the Celtics, came back and were playing on the other team.
''It was crazy with just the way that they would play and the tempo it was going at.
''The first couple of games I played, my mind was just racing the whole time because there was all these defensive principles about where I needed to be on the floor and I had to keep track of my man.
''It has been a huge adjustment but towards the end of those five games, the game started to slow down a little in my head but it is like nothing I've ever played before.''
The Huskies resume training in mid-September with the aim of qualifying for the NCAA division 1 tournament often referred to as 'March Madness'.
''UW [University of Washington] hasn't qualified in a while. It has been about five years or so.
''But the guys are looking good and, the more we play together, the better we will go.''
