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Jason Cameron (basketball)

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Jason Cameron
Personal information
Born (1974-02-20) 20 February 1974 (age 50)
Mackay, Queensland
NationalityAustralian
Listed height200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Career information
Playing career1991–2000
PositionSmall forward
Number11
Career history
1991Brisbane Bullets
1993–1999Townsville Suns/Crocodiles
1999–2000Brisbane Bullets
Career highlights and awards
As player:
  • ABA champion (2005)
  • ABA Grand Final MVP (2005)
  • 2× SEABL South champion (2005, 2007)
  • SEABL South Grand Final MVP (2007)
  • ABA Finals All-Star Five (2003)
  • QBL champion (2003)

As coach:

  • QBL Coach of the Year (2008)

Jason Cameron (born 20 February 1974) is an Australian former professional basketball player who played nine seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 200 cm small forward from Mackay also spent multiple years in the Queensland Basketball League and the South East Australian Basketball League where he won numerous awards during the 2000s.

Early life

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Cameron was born in Mackay, Queensland.[1]

NBL career

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Brisbane Bullets (1991)

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Cameron first played in the National Basketball League during the 1991 season as a development player for the Brisbane Bullets. He received limited opportunities in his first season, as the Bullets failed to make the playoffs with a win/loss record of 13–13 and a ninth-place finish. In two games for Brisbane, he played a total of 155 seconds and recorded one rebound while missing both field goals he attempted.[2]

Townsville Suns (1993–1998)

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After not being retained by the Bullets for the 1992 season, Cameron moved to Canberra where he joined the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and played for the program's basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).[3] In 1993, Cameron returned to the NBL as he joined the Townsville Suns for the club's inaugural season. His first full season in the NBL proved to be very effective as he provided the Suns with good minutes off the bench for the first half of the season before earning a starting spot alongside Ricky Jones and David Blades for the majority of the second half of the season. In 22 games, he averaged 5.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game as the Suns finished their first season with a dismal 4–22 win/loss record and a last place finish.[4]

Cameron played in a career-low 18 games (not including his development player season) for the Suns in 1994 and subsequently averaged 4.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game. In 1995, the Suns showed improvement with a 9–17 win/loss record on the season. Cameron's production increased as he averaged 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 26 games. He was also selected to the Future Forces game held during the NBL All-Star Weekend in Adelaide.[5] In the following season, Cameron's points numbers dropped to 5.8 per game despite starting in most of the Suns' games.[6]

Cameron's best season in the NBL came in 1997 with career-highs of 12.3 points and 1.6 steals, in addition to 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. On 8 August 1997, Cameron hit the 20-point mark for the first time in his career in a win over the Adelaide 36ers.[7][8] Cameron's best NBL season corresponded with the Suns also having their best season in 1997 as they finished with a 14–16 win/loss record a seventh-place finish, one win off a playoff spot that Brisbane nabbed with 15 wins.

While his points averages did drop in 1998, Cameron still managed to average a career-high 4.7 rebounds and score a career-high 22 points on 27 March in a win over the Canberra Cannons.[9][10] 1998 marked the end of the Suns brand as the club changed their name to the Crocodiles for the 1998–99 NBL season. With 151 games played out of the Suns' 164, Cameron was the only player to have played in all six Suns seasons.[5]

Final years in NBL (1998–2000)

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Cameron was one of six Suns players to stick with the club for the Crocodiles' inaugural season in 1998–99.[11] But with the name change came a career-low season for Cameron as he averaged just 2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 26 games.[12]

After parting ways with Townsville following a disappointing 1998–99 season, Cameron moved back to Brisbane and re-joined the Bullets for the 1999–2000 NBL season. In what was Cameron's final season in the NBL, he averaged 5.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 28 games.[13]

Post-NBL career

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South West Metro Pirates (2003)

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Between 1999 and 2003, Cameron played in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) for the Mackay Meteors and the South West Metro Pirates.[14] Playing for the Pirates in 2003, Cameron guided them to a maiden QBL championship and a trip to the ABA National Finals.[15] There, the Pirates faced off against the Canberra Gunners on 29 August for a spot in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, with a 102–83 loss, they were knocked out of the championship race, and the following day, they faced fellow eliminated quarter-finalist Forestville Eagles, also losing this encounter 118–102. Despite their two losses, Cameron was named to the ABA Finals All-Star Five alongside NBL players Daniel Egan and Chris Stauber.[16]

Bendigo Braves (2004–2007)

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In 2004, Cameron moved south to join the Bendigo Braves of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).[17] In just his second season with the Braves, he returned to the ABA National Finals playing alongside future Perth Wildcats legend Shawn Redhage. The Braves won all but five regular season games in 2005 and were successful in claiming the SEABL South championship with a 105–99 grand final win over the Kilsyth Cobras.[18] The Braves went on to cap off a spectacular season with a 102–98 ABA Grand Final win over the Sydney City Comets, as Cameron earned Grand Final MVP honours.[19] Two seasons later, the Braves repeated as SEABL South champions and booked themselves a place in the 2007 Australian Club Championships (ACC) with another South Grand Final defeat of the Kilsyth Cobras. In the 74–63 win, Cameron earned Grand Final MVP honours.[20] Despite having the confidence of their 2005 win behind them, the Braves were convincingly beaten 100–70 by Big V champions the Dandenong Rangers in their quarter-final match-up. In what was Cameron's final game for the Braves, he scored 12 points in the disappointing loss.[21] In 98 games for the Braves over four seasons (being co-captain for the last three alongside Ben Harvey), Cameron averaged 14.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.[22]

Return to South West Metro (2008–2010)

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In 2008, Cameron returned to Queensland where he re-joined the South West Metro Pirates as a player/coach. He made an immediate impact over the first three games, averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds while earning Player of the Week honours for Round 3.[23] The Pirates held top position on the ladder for a long stretch of the 2008 season, and with an 8–0 record by mid-June, Cameron earned the Coach of the Month honours for the season's second month.[24] They were competition front-runners from Rounds 7 through 11 and showed they were up to any challenge thrown at them. On 30 June, the Pirates played the UNLV Runnin' Rebels college basketball team in their fifth of six exhibition games on their tour of Australia. Hosting the Rebels at the Queensland Academy of Sport's Athletics Centre, the Pirates were easily defeated 97–55 despite a notable 14-point effort from Cameron.[25] Cameron and teammate Brendan Teys were superb throughout the QBL season and helped the Pirates win their quarter-final match-up against the Logan Thunder.[26] The Pirates unfortunately lost to the Townsville Heat in the semi-final despite having won the earlier season match-up with the Heat in Round 2.[27] Cameron was subsequently named the QBL Coach of the Year.[28]

Returning to the Pirates in 2009 as captain/coach, Cameron guided the club to a third straight semi-final, but again could not get them over the hump as they were beaten by the eventual champions Cairns Marlins in a 37-point thrashing. In what was his final game as coach of the Pirates, Cameron recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds in the 115–78 loss.[29] In January 2010, Cameron was replaced as coach of the Pirates by former NBL player and Australian Boomer Stephen Black. Cameron did return as just a player for the Pirates in 2010, alongside fellow returnees Nate Niesler and Troy Thomson, and continued to captain the team.[30] However, he managed just 13 games for the Pirates in 2010 due to injury and subsequently retired from basketball at the end of the season.[1][31]

NBL career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1991 Brisbane 2 .000 .000 .000 .5 .0 .0 .0 .0
1993 Townsville 22 .457 .286 .692 2.9 2.3 1.1 .4 5.9
1994 Townsville 18 .484 .471 .474 3.2 1.6 1.0 .5 4.3
1995 Townsville 26 .477 .351 .636 4.2 2.4 1.2 .7 7.4
1996 Townsville 25 .404 .366 .529 3.5 1.6 1.2 .4 5.8
1997 Townsville 30 .482 .419 .706 4.5 2.3 1.6 .5 12.3
1998 Townsville 30 .415 .366 .778 4.7 1.6 1.3 .3 7.5
1998–99 Townsville 26 .304 .275 .429 1.4 1.2 .5 .1 2.4
1999–2000 Brisbane 28 .390 .273 .448 2.6 1.4 .6 .2 5.4
Career 207 .434 .355 .623 3.4 1.8 1.1 .4 6.5

References

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  1. ^ a b "Player statistics for Jason Cameron – QBL". FoxSportsPulse.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Player statistics for Jason Cameron – 1991". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Past Athletes". ausport.gov.au. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Player statistics for Jason Cameron – 1993". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b "SUNS HISTORY 1993-1998". Crocodiles.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Player statistics for Jason Cameron – 1996". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  7. ^ "NBL 1997 Round 17 – 36ers vs Suns". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Player statistics for Jason Cameron – 1997". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  9. ^ "NBL 1998 Round 9 – Cannons vs Suns". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Player statistics for Jason Cameron – 1998". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  11. ^ "CROCS HISTORY 1998 – NOW". Crocodiles.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Player statistics for Jason Cameron – 1998/99". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Player statistics for Jason Cameron – 1999/00". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Meteor hot after landing from North Dakota". DailyMercury.com.au. 6 April 2005. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Spartans and Pirates win QABL honours". qabl.basketball.net.au. 24 August 2003. Archived from the original on 16 October 2003.
  16. ^ "Basketball Australia Annual Report 2003" (PDF). ausport.gov.au. pp. 42–43. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Braves pair call it a day". BendigoAdvertiser.com.au. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  18. ^ "SEABL MEMORIES - 2005 SOUTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP". SEABL.com.au. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  19. ^ "Basketball Australia Annual Report 2005" (PDF). ausport.gov.au. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  20. ^ "Cobras brave but cannot get over Bendigo". KilsythBasketball.com.au. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  21. ^ "Basketball Australia Annual Report 2007 – Australian Club Championships Scoreboard" (PDF). SportingPulse.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  22. ^ "BEST OF THE BRAVES – PLAYERS 11-15 – BENDIGO ADVERTISER". SEABL.com.au. 11 November 2010. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  23. ^ "Round 3 MEN- Jason Cameron (SW Metro Pirates)". SportingPulse.com. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  24. ^ "Coach of the Month - Jason Cameron (South West)". SportingPulse.com. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  25. ^ "Rebels Post Another Big Win In Australia". CTSV.com. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2015.[dead link‍]
  26. ^ "Quarter Final Game Previews - MEN". SportingPulse.com. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  27. ^ "Semi Final Game Previews - MEN". SportingPulse.com. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  28. ^ "Champions & Award Winners". QABL.basketball.com.au. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  29. ^ "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride". TheSatellite.com.au. 17 August 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  30. ^ "Black's destiny". TheSatellite.com.au. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  31. ^ Tuxworth, Jon (14 August 2010). "Clippers to face South West Metro". SunshineCoastDaily.com.au. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
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