Convincing Cameron

When Flynn Cameron was tossing up his NBL future there were no shortage of suitors.

Seeking more game time after glimpses of his talent with Melbourne United, Cameron was eager to ensure his next move was the right one.

The Adelaide 36ers were just one of the sides to throw their hat in the ring with coach Mike Wells and Captain DJ Vasiljevic among those to get on the phone to the exciting New Zealander.

And while their pitch was impressive, it was a recently retired 36er who convinced Cameron to sign on in Adelaide.

“After talking to coach Mike Wells, I called DJ (Vasiljevic) before I made the decision - and this was before they signed Bryce (Cotton) and Montrezl (Harrell) and Zylan (Cheatham),” Cameron said.

“I had no clue they were going to sign. That’s just made it a whole lot more interesting, just even better for us.

“Initially I was just looking for opportunity but also, I know Adelaide is an amazing place.

“I’ve got a great relationship with Jason Cadee, who had been there for some time.

“He reached out to me. We had a couple of conversations, and he just said that Adelaide is a great spot for you and Jason’s never steered me wrong in the past.”

Cadee has been a mentor of sorts for Cameron in recent years.

The recently retired 424-gamer played with Cameron’s father Pero at the Gold Coast Blaze 15 years ago as well as playing at Brisbane while Pero Cameron was an assistant coach more recently.

When Flynn Cameron was at College in the US, he’d come home on breaks and train with the Gold Coast Rollers NBL1 side, which Cadee was part of.

“Throughout that June, July period I’d always come home and I’d join in the training and catch up with Jason,” Cameron explained.

“He’d give me a lot of advice and everything he said, I just took it all on board.

“He is always somebody I can talk to. He used to play with my Dad back in the Gold Coast Blaze days, so I just thought, I trust Jason, I also trust Anthony Petrie who used to live down there and play with the 36ers so when people that I trust have good things to say about Adelaide I thought let’s do it!”

Another Adelaide local getting in his ear was his former University of California, Riverside teammate Lachlan Olbrich.

“I’ve been talking a lot with him,” Cameron said of the NBA hopeful.

“He's had a lot of good things to say about Adelaide and I'm excited to get there and get to have a look around.

“All I know is Henley Beach is a vibe. The sun sets there on the water and we used to go down as a team for a feed when I was with Melbourne and the atmosphere there was always good.

“The other thing that really attracted me was the crowds. They’re loud at the Entertainment Centre, it’s an awesome environment.”

Currently playing in the NZNBL, Cameron has spent some of the NBL off-season with family across the ditch, and bringing his girlfriend over has allowed him to be somewhat of a tourist.

But he isn’t having any down time, opting to refresh and re-set with lofty goals.

“I definitely want to play for the Tall Blacks in the Olympics, that's definitely my biggest goal but aside from that I’d love to play overseas, why not the NBA,” the 24-year-old said.

“In terms of this upcoming year, I definitely want us to win the NBL championship.

“These past two years with Melbourne, you know, we've been so close and just fallen short.

“That’s just more fuel for the fire.”

And given the roster assembled by Wells and 36ers GM of Basketball Operations Matt Weston, Cameron can’t see why the championship isn’t a realistic goal.

“We’ve got a bunch of like high-level players, highly talented players, players that know the league, you know the league MVP coming back,” he said.

“Trez (Harrell) had a great year and he’s coming back, Cheatham coming back after being great for the Breakers and then you look at other pieces, Matt Kenyon, Isaac White, Michael Harris, and that’s not to mention Isaac Humphries and DJ – two stars themselves.

“I don't think talent's going to be an issue at all this year, I think we’ve just gotta put in the work day by day, gel together as a team, then anything is possible.”