NBA Draft Profiles: Demetri McCamey, Illinois

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Stats: 14.6 ppg, 6.1 apg, 3.4 rpg, 45.1 3PT%, 2.9 t/o's

Age: 22, senior

Size:

• Listed: 6'3", 200 lb
• Official: 6'1.75" (no shoes), 6'3" (with shoes), 6'6.25" (wingspan), 8'3.5" (reach), 204 lb

Strengths: Skillwise, McCamey is an attractive prospect. He's not the most explosive or the quickest player on the floor, but he's got a tight handle and the ability to get by his man. He also not only has the ability to shoot the ball from deep (he hit over 45% of his threes this year), but he's a terrific passer that can really set up his teammates. His size in beneficial to him, as he will likely be able to play off the ball at times.

Weaknesses: McCamey is not an ideal NBA athlete. There are questions about whether or not he is quick enough laterally (or has the desire) to defend at the NBA level. He also lacks the explosion to consistently beat his man off the dribble and struggles finishing around the rim with an average vertical. The bigger issues, however, are in his leadership ability. McCamey put up impressive numbers over his last two seasons at Illinois, but those Illini teams never lived up to expectations. He had a long-standing and public feud with head coach Bruce Weber, likely the result of McCamey's so-so work ethic, questionable shot-selection, and coachability. He's not exactly proven to be an ideal candidate to lead a team.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: A poor man's Chauncey Billups or a better shooting Jamaal Tinsley. McCamey has a similar build and style of play to Billups. Both players shoot the ball well and want to take the shot in crunch time. They both are good passers while lacking in the ability to create off the dribble. With Tinsley, both he and McCamey can rack up the assists, but Tinsley was a good starting point guard in the NBA for a number of years. I don't think McCamey will ever be more than a back-up at the next level.


• Worst Case Scenario: Its tough to come up with a worst case scenario for McCamey, because his worst-case scenario won't have anything to do with his ability on the floor. Out-of-shape point guards that don't defend and shoot too much don't last long in the NBA.

Outlook: McCamey has had off-the-court red flags seemingly his entire career at Illinois. His longstanding feud with Bruce Weber finally boiled over when the coach called him out for his work ethic in February, which is a less-than-ideal time for a star player to be coasting. Its a shame that his career ended the way it did, because McCamey was tearing up the competition early in the year. He was making smart decisions with the ball, he was distributing to his teammates, he was hitting seemingly every shot that he put up, and he had Illinois looking like a legitimate sleeper in the Big Ten. But as the season wore on, McCamey became more selfish and seemed to lose his explosiveness, once again raising the red flags -- work ethic, shot selection, decision making, and conditioning. In terms of his skill-set, there may actually be a place in the NBA for McCamey. He can flat out shoot the ball and he is a very effective player in the pick-and-roll, two things that NBA GM's look for in point guards. But his lack of defensive intensity and the apathy he seems to display towards his team and his improvement may eventually be his downfall.

Draft Range: Mid-to-Late 2nd round

And the experts say...

• Draft Express: "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."


• Swish Scout: "Veteran senior point guard who killed teams with his confident deep shooting, playmaking passes for teammates, and solid ball handling skills to get where he needed. Doesn’t always make the right decisions, take the greatest shots, or play the best D, but McCamey is a risk taker who has potential to play PG in the NBA because of his solid build and efficient talents."

Highlights: (There are not a lot of good videos out there for McCamey. You might want to turn the volume down before you hit play.)