Demetri McCamey

Demetri McCamey - As a junior, Demetri McCamey really put it all together. Then as a senior, Demetri McCamey threw it all away. Dust-ups with the coach, public questioning of his leadership and sporadic effort saw McCamey underwhelm as a senior, as did the team he was supposed to leading to a deep tournament run.

In his final year, McCamey's numbers were all down across the board, except for one - three point percentage. McCamey made himself into an elite, feared shooter as time went on, which, when combined with his passing vision, made for a very effective combination.

The rest of the game is lacking, however. McCamey is not fast, and thus cannot keep anybody in front of him defensively, a problem exacerbated by his apparent lack of desire in doing so. This lack of athleticism also hindered him around the basket, which he both struggled to finish at and struggled to get it. And this became particularly true as the jumpshot improved, and he no longer needed to. McCamey really is a good half court point guard with some of the best passing skills and court awareness in the pool, but he was too limited and consistent to do much with it.

He is also not as strong as advertised. Strong, certainly, but he looks stronger than he is because of his lack of neck. And even if he is were to be strong, it's not an advantage unless he does something with it.

Illinois are somewhat lucky to be here after a typically up-and-down season that, luckily, was carried by some good non-conference wins. They struggled all season with inconsistency, including a worrying amount from their senior class, who did not exactly lead by example.

Star point guard Demetri McCamey averaged 6.1 assists per game, good for 13th in the nation, and on paper at least continued the good work he began when he broke out last season. But he has been lambasted for poor leadership, discipline and work ethic, supposedly disinterested in leading the team due to his NBA aspirations, and being benched for these things on more than one occasion. This is particularly haphazard for McCamey given that his NBA aspirations aren't really that great - he may well get drafted, but it's on talent alone, and certainly not on conditioning. McCamey has great passing vision, is willing to pass first, can push the ball or get to the rim in the halfcourt, and has developed into a fantastic three point shooter. But he's slow, perennially out of shape, has absolutely no mid-range game, is inconsistent, and is a liability defensively, far more so at the next level than at this one. And he's already a liability at this one.