University of Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Player Profile - Demetri McCamey

Player Profile: Demetri McCamey
Position: Guard
Height: 6'3"
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Bellwood, IL

Player Summary

McCamey's emergence as the Illini's point guard for the next three years (unless he goes pro early) was the brightest spot in a dark '07-'08 season. When he was on, McCamey was almost unstoppable for the Illini. He single-handedly kept the Illini in more than one game. Towards the end of the year, McCamey was playing over 30 minutes a game consistently. With the guard depth that Illinois will have this season, I expect that McCamey will hover around 30 minutes per game. He's got NBA-caliber talent if he can grow over the next few seasons and work on some of his weaknesses. It will be a pleasure to watch him over the next few seasons.

Statistics for '07-'08 Basketball Season

Minutes: 27.3
Points: 8.2
Rebounds: 2.9
Assists: 3.3
Steals: 0.5
Blocks: 0.1

Player Strengths

Right now, McCamey's biggest strength is simply his talent. When he's in a groove, he's shooting well, taking care of the ball, distributing to teammates, and playing decent defense. He also began to display a little leadership as the season wore on. When the Illini needed a big shot, McCamey was happy to take it.

Player Weaknesses

McCamey was very inconsistent last year, even at the end of the season. It happens to freshman and is no big surprise. But, he'll have to become more consistent in his sophomore season. If you add up his points and assists, his last six games were 7, 15, 29, 16, 9, and 7. At times, McCamey looked out of control running the offense. His assist to turnover ratio was low for a point guard, and he shot only 36% from the field.

Player Projections

With the addition of guards that can shoot and score, McCamey's assists should move up quite a bit. He'll be passing to Jamar Smith, Alex Legion, and Trent Meacham for jumpers and to Calvin Brock and Mike Davis in the fast break. I think I may be a little conservative in my project for McCamey's minutes and would not be surprised if he wound up closer to 35. He's one of, if not the best, players on the Illini and there's no reason to have him off the court. If he makes the strides he's capable of, he'll be one of the best point guards in the Big Ten and will help make the Illini's season quite a bit better than the last one.

Projected Statistics for Illini '08-'09 Basketball Season

Minutes: 30.0
Points: 12.5
Rebounds: 3.5
Assists: 5.0
Steals: 1.0
Blocks: 0.1

Sources:
www.espn.com
illinois.scout.com/