With off-season antics underway, the Miners’ basketball squad introduced one of their newcomers for the 2016-17 season in freshman guard Tim Cameron.
After losing seven players, who either transferred or graduated last season, head coach Tim Floyd is left to fill some holes in his team.
“I’m excited about the future,” Cameron said. “I’m excited about being at UTEP and helping the program win. I visited the school last fall and really enjoyed it here.”
Out of high school, Cameron spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia. Through the 2015-16 season, Cameron claims he grew as a player and now is ready for the competition at the Conference USA level.
At Hargrave, Cameron aided his squad to a 47-1 overall record.
“I was able to grow in so many ways,” Cameron said. “I got stronger and I got to play with the college 3-point line. My bench press went from 195 to 225. Plus I got to play against and with some very talented players.”
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard can both dunk the ball and, more importantly, drop back and hit the jumper.
“I like to play fast-paced basketball and attack the basket,” Cameron said. “On defense I like to play hard and I like the challenge of going up against the opponent’s best offensive player.”
His jump shot is very important to him and something that he wants to continue developing during his training.
“I want to develop my jump shot—be more consistent at the college line,” Cameron said. “Being a more consistent shooter, defender and seeing stuff more at the college pace.”
Prior to signing with UTEP, he had different options and offers, some from other C-USA teams.
“I did have a lot of Conference USA teams interested, so it’ll be interesting to compete against those teams in the conference,” he said. “UTEP has lots of tradition and great support.”
Cameron officially inked his name with the Miners in the fall and what attracted Cameron to the team was the environment surrounding the team.
“I like coach Floyd and the family atmosphere around it,” Cameron said. “It felt like this is where I needed to be. Other schools looked at me, but this is where I felt they wanted me the most and they would develop me to do my best.”
Amongst a bigger recruiting class than most, Cameron believes the newcomers can bring something special to the program and help the team grow.
“We got a lot of great players (in this class),” Cameron said. “It’s going to be great, growing with them. I think we can do championships every year. The last thing is just being a leader to those guys and keep developing. I think we should do really well.”
Adrian Broaddus may be reached at [email protected].
