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Walker Beeken
When we last wrote about Demetri McCamey, he had Illinois off to what seemed to be a promising start to the 2010-2011 season, with wins over Maryland, Gonzaga, and North Carolina, and only one loss, to a talented Texas team in a close game at Madison Square Garden. McCamey was also at the top of our database in virtually all point guard metrics, including assists per-40, pure point rating, and assist-to-turnover ratio. His body looked improved, he was shooting the ball extremely well, he was playing with great confidence, and he looked like he was establishing himself as one of the premiere point guards in the country, and a player that would earn many fans amongst NBA scouts during his senior season.
Unfortunately for McCamey, the rest of his final season at Illinois didn't go so well, as the Illini went 11-13 in their last twenty-four games, his production dipped across the board, and he was publicly called out by Head Coach Bruce Weber regarding off-court distractions and lack of effort. This once again brought to light many some of the red flags scouts have had about him in the past regarding his work ethic, shot selection, decision-making, and conditioning level.
We noted earlier in the season that his conditioning level looked to be better and that he was playing with an extra burst, but as the season went it on, he struggled to get by his man off the dribble due to his lack of speed and explosiveness. This has always been an area of concern when projecting McCamey to the next level, especially considering how much NBA teams now covet jet-type point guards who can get into the lane at will off the dribble. McCamey will never be that type of player, so he'll need to make tightening up his body and maximizing his explosiveness one of his top priorities going forward.
Further illustrating McCamey's lack of athleticism is the trouble he had scoring inside the arc this season. He struggles to get all the way to basket off the bounce, and his lack of elevation and a reliable floater prevent him from finishing at the rim with great effectiveness, as evidenced by the 45% he shot on 2-pointers this season, a mediocre rate historically.
Outside the 3-point arc, McCamey demonstrated that he's a top notch shooter at the point guard position, connecting on an excellent 45% of his 3-pointers this season. He's comfortable shooting off the dribble or off the catch, and he has range well past the NBA 3-point line. This bodes well for him going forward, and should help to open up the floor for dribble penetration for himself and his teammates, especially if he needs to spend time playing off the ball, which is certainly a possibility at his size.
McCamey's defense also looked to drop off this season. We've noted before that he'll likely face questions about his lateral quickness, but he seemed to lack the focus and consistent energy level on the defensive end, leading to him getting caught out of position and beat off the dribble far too often.
These defensive struggles and lack of effort go hand-in-hand with the public feud between McCamey and Weber this season. McCamey's poor conditioning level and inconsistent shooting throughout his career at Illinois have always raised concerns to his commitment and work ethic, and his struggles this season only further backup those concerns.
Much of the evaluation that NBA teams will need to do with McCamey will center around gathering information on his character and commitment to the game. His size, feel for the game, and shooting ability are all very attractive to teams searching for point guards, but scouts will need to get a better feel for whether or not they believe that he'll ever fully dedicate himself to working on his game and getting his body into the type of condition to where he can maximize his talents.
He'll have opportunities to boost his stock with workouts and interviews with teams between now and this summer's draft, but his senior season will likely have NBA decision-makers using more caution in projecting his NBA future.
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