Cameron Hunt has goals. Short term. And medium term. The 23-year-old in the service of Bundesliga basketball team s.Oliver Wrzburg is only about to start his first Bundesliga season – but has already become an important pillar in Denis Wucherer’s system. In February, when the Baskets announced that they had signed Hunt for three years until 2023 and described him as an “option for the future”, head coach Wucherer said: “We want to give him the chance to develop further and bring him to the Bundesliga . ” That was before Corona.
The idea of borrowing the top scorer of last season’s farm team of Wrzburger in the ProB, who had previously played at a college in the USA for four years, was quickly taken care of because of the pandemic and the halved budget. Their farm team withdrew the baskets from third grade in the spring, and in his compulsory game for the professionals last Sunday against Ludwigsburg Hunt was in the starting five and almost 25 minutes on the floor, with eleven points he was second best after Tyler Persons (twelve) Wrzburger thrower. Bring up? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that. Cameron Hunt is already in the middle of it, and got at least a little praise from his trainer: “His speed makes him sometimes difficult to defend,” said Usurer, who in the same breath immediately took his talent into account: “He is one of our guards, so I expect him to orchestrate our game with Tyler in the last quarter too. “
“I have to make decisions much faster now.”
Cameron Hunt, the Baskets playmaker–
The two development players didn’t really do that in the final section, which visibly annoyed usurers. The team got bogged down in individual actions, the ball no longer ran so quickly through the rows, which is why the Baskets drew 67:78, although they had been on eye level with the runner-up for 30 or even 33 minutes. That’s why Hunt’s goal this weekend, at the cup games in Ulm against Bamberg (Saturday) and the home side (Sunday, both 3 p.m.), is also very clear: “We want to play 40 minutes against the two good opponents and not just 30.” And despite the mask he wears during the conversation, you can tell from the wrinkles around his eyes that he is at least smiling at this moment.
“The physicality and, above all, the speed” was what Hunt identified as the biggest differences compared to last season, when the 1.92-meter-and-85-kilo man – at least according to the statistics – was one of the five best players in the ProB . Until Sars-CoV-2 ended the season shortly before the play-offs. “I have to make decisions much faster now,” says Hunt, who has also recognized that the opponents are “a lot smarter”, so a lot more talented.
He’s been training with the pros for a good year now, and a comparison naturally suggests itself: Hunt not only shares his first name with last season’s Baskets captain Cameron Wells. Both are Texans, both Guards with high basketball IQs. “I learned a lot from Cam in training, but also from Skyler Bowlin and Jordan Hulls,” says Hunt, who is still in contact with last season’s playmakers: “I ask them anything I can,” says he. And maybe the answers will help a little to help Cameron Hunt achieve his medium-term goal: to succeed Cameron Wells. “Of course I’m working on becoming a leader like him too. That’s the plan.” Of course, Hunt also knows: The footsteps are great.
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