Cameron Black

[Zipmeister]

Heck yeah we can use this dude. The three is a low percentage shot in college bb now. The ability to score down low is key for us to get better and can help make up for bad shooting nights which seem to plague us quite often. 7'0 Zeke and this kid at 6'9 we'd have a huge lineup for MAC standards.

Through 3-29 the Zips made 33.2% of their 3 point attempts (196th in Div. 1), and 41.8% of their 2 point attempts (251st in Div. 1). In other words, they averaged just a hair under 1 point per 3 point shot, but averaged only .41 points per 2 point attempt. Sounds like they should forget going after big guys, recruit only guards, and launch nothing but 3s.

[Dave in Green]

GoZips, I'm wondering how recent your information is about Black. The reason I ask is because he appears to be on a rapid upward climb in the Bolus Ratings. Black was not even mentioned in the Bolus pre-season report on Ohio HS basketball. His name was appended at the bottom of the pre-season rankings in January as "Additional Ohio Newcomer" (see link below). Just two months later in the March edition I linked to in my previous post, Black had risen to the Second 12 among all Ohio HS underclassmen. If he went from no mention in the initial ratings to second best 12 underclassmen in his junior season, he may be a much better player now than what you might have seen or heard of earlier this season.Cameron Black Added to Bolus Ratings

[Dave in Green]

Heck yeah we can use this dude. The three is a low percentage shot in college bb now. The ability to score down low is key for us to get better and can help make up for bad shooting nights which seem to plague us quite often. 7'0 Zeke and this kid at 6'9 we'd have a huge lineup for MAC standards.

Through 3-29 the Zips made 33.2% of their 3 point attempts (196th in Div. 1), and 41.8% of their 2 point attempts (251st in Div. 1). In other words, they averaged just a hair under 1 point per 3 point shot, but averaged only .41 points per 2 point attempt. Sounds like they should forget going after big guys, recruit only guards, and launch nothing but 3s.

OK, so you're not a math major. Actually, .418 x 2 = .836 points per 2-point shot and .332 x 3 = .996 points per 3-point shot. That's not a bad balance. If you focus on one to the exclusion of the other, defenses can set up for it. So it pays to shoot a good balance of 2s and 3s. But both percentages will need to go up if the Zips team hopes to climb to a higher level. Defense alone will not do it.

[Dave in Green]

After a little more research, I found that Black was hampered early in the season by a foot stress fracture. I also found a newspaper article from December 2007 that helps explain how he came onto the radar so quickly after being such an unknown:Can't Roosevelt's Cameron Black has been coaching his son, Cameron II, since he was a third grader playing on the AAU courts. Cameron II is a 6-6 sophomore shooting guard who comes off the bench for the Rough Riders.In other words, he went from being a 6-6 backup shooting guard in his sophomore season to 6-9 starting center in his junior season. With the foot injury holding him back early, he doesn't even have a full season's experience playing in the frontcourt. So his rapid climb in the Bolus Ratings is obviously based partly on his potential and not entirely on his performance to date.As Rasor wrote in his blog earlier this year:After watching him a couple times, the ABJ's Michael Beaven said this about Black: "I think he is a pretty good player. He is about 6-8 or 6-9 and probably about 220 pounds or so. He scores mostly around the basket and is a good rebounder. He probably needs to add some muscle to play in the MAC."Adding bulk may not be a Black family problem based on the following from the December 2007 newspaper story:He has a younger brother (Curtis), who at 6-2, 265 pounds is a member of the 8th grade championship football and undefeated basketball teams.It's hard to predict how quickly HS players will continue to develop before graduation. But if his game keeps growing at this rate during his senior season, he could potentially be more than a college walk-on.Let's see how long it takes Scout and Rivals to suddenly "discover" him.

[Blue & Gold]

Thanks for the info about Black being a 6-6 shooting guard during his sophomore season. That made a lot of sense to me because in the video I saw of him he hit a few outside shots and had a really nice, smooth stroke.

[Zipmeister]

Heck yeah we can use this dude. The three is a low percentage shot in college bb now. The ability to score down low is key for us to get better and can help make up for bad shooting nights which seem to plague us quite often. 7'0 Zeke and this kid at 6'9 we'd have a huge lineup for MAC standards.

Through 3-29 the Zips made 33.2% of their 3 point attempts (196th in Div. 1), and 41.8% of their 2 point attempts (251st in Div. 1). In other words, they averaged just a hair under 1 point per 3 point shot, but averaged only .41 points per 2 point attempt. Sounds like they should forget going after big guys, recruit only guards, and launch nothing but 3s.

OK, so you're not a math major. Actually, .418 x 2 = .836 points per 2-point shot and .332 x 3 = .996 points per 3-point shot. That's not a bad balance. If you focus on one to the exclusion of the other, defenses can set up for it. So it pays to shoot a good balance of 2s and 3s. But both percentages will need to go up if the Zips team hopes to climb to a higher level. Defense alone will not do it.

My bad on the math, but even with the corrected figure you provide we are still better off shooting nothing but threes. Speaking of which, never forget, there are only three kinds of people in this world: those who can count and those who can't.

[Dave in Green]

..... but even with the corrected figure you provide we are still better off shooting nothing but threes. .....

No. That's why I said that if you focus on one to the exclusion of the other, defenses can set up for it. So it pays to shoot a good balance of 2s and 3s. That keeps the defense guessing and allows you to shoot higher percentages on both. If they know you're shooting nothing but 3s, they can relax on the inside and contest the outside shots more intensely. The best scenario is to be good at both 2s and 3s, and then take advantage of what the defense gives you.

[Zipmeister]

..... but even with the corrected figure you provide we are still better off shooting nothing but threes. .....

No. That's why I said that if you focus on one to the exclusion of the other, defenses can set up for it. So it pays to shoot a good balance of 2s and 3s. That keeps the defense guessing and allows you to shoot higher percentages on both. If they know you're shooting nothing but 3s, they can relax on the inside and contest the outside shots more intensely. The best scenario is to be good at both 2s and 3s, and then take advantage of what the defense gives you.

No, the best scenario is to shoot nothing but threes and never miss.

[Dave in Green]

Black verbals to BGSU.PD Link

[Blue & Gold]

Good for Cameron. I wish him well. It was pretty evident he wanted to be a Zip but we just didn't have room for him. Good luck, Cameron! Except for when you're playing the Zips, of course.

[Z.I.P.]

Good for Cameron. I wish him well. It was pretty evident he wanted to be a Zip but we just didn't have room for him. Good luck, Cameron! Except for when you're playing the Zips, of course.

That high school is going to stick out in the program every time he visits the MAC Center, isn't it. Best of luck.

[ZachTheZip]

Chose BG over Akron because we wanted him to redshirt, and BG said he would play as a freshman

[Dave in Green]

We always hope that the player we just missed getting does not turn out to be a better player than the one we got in his place. That takes on added significance when the player we just missed ends up playing for one of our conference rivals.

[Captain Kangaroo]

It is nice to be in a position to tell a 6' 9" D-1 recruit that he'd need to redshirt.

[Zip Watcher]

I think this is a pretty good illustration of where the Zips are at the moment. Several years ago, we'd be hoping this kid could step in and contribute 10-15 minutes immediately. Today, we're hoping he would redshirt and look to contribute next season and beyond.

Great time to be a Zips fan.

Go Zips!

B) B)

[Roo]

We always hope that the player we just missed getting does not turn out to be a better player than the one we got in his place. That takes on added significance when the player we just missed ends up playing for one of our conference rivals.

He had two DI offers. We didn';t miss out on much.

Seen the kid play in person plenty of times, surprised he got any DI offers. That is not that kind of kid you want to recruit if you want to improve and take your team to the next level. Glad he chose BG.

[Dave in Green]

It was discussed here earlier that Black was a skinny shooting guard popping away from 3-point land in his first two seasons of HS, and overnight sprouted up and filled in to become a 6-9 center/power forward banger in the paint. That's a pretty huge transition, and I wouldn't have expected to see his full potential at the new position in HS. I never saw him play, but I'm not surprised that he looked a little rough. The real question is how good he can become if he realizes his full potential as a college big. Since he didn't draw a lot of recruiting attention, you'd have to think he's a longshot to become a big contributor at the college level.

[zippyman23]

Since we didn't ask Euton to red-shirt, that pretty much tells you that the coaches thought more highly Euton than Black. Just have to wait and see how their respective college careers play out.

[Z.I.P.]

“Akron wanted me to sit out the first year (redshirt), and then take the scholarship the next four years.”

As I recall, that's not the definition of a red-shirt, but a brown shirt. Red-shirts GET the first-year scholly, and have four years to play four. He was apparently asked by Keith to pay his own way as a frosh -- then he'd have what -- five years to play four, or just four for four?

[zippyman23]

“Akron wanted me to sit out the first year (redshirt), and then take the scholarship the next four years.”

As I recall, that's not the definition of a red-shirt, but a brown shirt. Red-shirts GET the first-year scholly, and have four years to play four. He was apparently asked by Keith to pay his own way as a frosh -- then he'd have what -- five years to play four, or just four for four?

It's still a red shirt. Not all red-shirts get schollys their first season. It happens. KD just wanted him to pay his own way during his red-shirt year since we were out of scholarships at the time.