Cam Spencer 0 Stars out of high school recruitment

[MTBingNinja]

Talking about putting in the work and not listening to the naysayers. Announcers yesterday were sharing that Cam Spencer was a 0 Star player coming out of high school for recruitment. Unbelievable.

 

[Scoe]

Did I hear that right that he didn’t even start a game in high school what a stor.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Talk about a stock I wish I bought back then. The development has been unreal.

 

[navery12]

Did I hear that right that he didn’t even start a game in high school what a stor.

Don't think so, he was the Maryland player of the year as a senior so he definitely started

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Don't think so, he was the Maryland player of the year as a senior so he definitely started

There are some truly abysmal high school coaches so him not starting and him winning player of the year are not mutually exclusive.

 

[REB1094]

He’ll never out-run, out-jump, or out-muscle anybody, but he is so smart and so good at putting himself in positions to make plays

Efficiency means maximizing output while minimizing input. Cam is EFFICIENT. Never a wasted dribble or movement, and a great shooter to go with it

 

[husky429]

I don't know about "0-star"--I think they give kids 2 just for getting a D1 offer.

He averaged 10/3/3 his first 2 years at Loyola. It's not like some 5* talent was overlooked. He probably could have ended up at a lower-level P6 instead of a mid-major.

The real story of his career is his unbelievable development.

 

[superjohn]

I don't know about "0-star"--I think they give kids 2 just for getting a D1 offer.

He averaged 10/3/3 his first 2 years at Loyola. It's not like some 5* talent was overlooked. He probably could have ended up at a lower-level P6 instead of a mid-major.

The real story of his career is his unbelievable development.

We weren't seeing the best of him his first 2 years at Loyola. He played through debilitating pain his first 2 seasons and missed a ton of time before getting hip surgery. He was playing through severe pain even in high school.

 

[AllHusky]

He’ll never out-run, out-jump, or out-muscle anybody, but he is so smart and so good at putting himself in positions to make plays

Efficiency means maximizing output while minimizing input. Cam is EFFICIENT. Never a wasted dribble or movement, and a great shooter to go with it

I remember watching clips of him when we got involved, just so excited about what I saw. He's better even than what I imagined.

 

[AllHusky]

We weren't seeing the best of him his first 2 years at Loyola. He played through debilitating pain his first 2 seasons and missed a ton of time before getting hip surgery. He was playing through severe pain even in high school.

Wow, labrum?

 

[HobokenHusky]

Happy to have Spencer and he’s been exactly what we need, but he’s athletically limited. He’s gotten stuffed on a drive to the hoop I think in close to every game, and vs a high level team like Texas he will get beat badly in a 1:1 defensive matchup on occasion.

Not surprised he wasn’t ranked highly - you can’t bet on guys like him to reach the 99th percentile of their range of outcomes like he has consistently.

 

[UCTitleTown]

My daughter had a friend who was a bench warmer in high school and barely played who went on to play four years of D1. Talent can be missed. It happens. I'd hire grinders like that kid or Tristen at my company any day. Nothing like proving the doubters wrong.

 

[superjohn]

Wow, labrum?

This article details all of it. Knowing what he's fought through physically and how he was overlooked by everyone except his brother's local mid-major University despite dominating in high school makes me love Cam even more...

Meet Rutgers’ Cam Spencer: a competitive ‘animal’ eager to make B1G jump with Scarlet Knights

Meet Rutgers’ Cam Spencer: a competitive ‘animal’ eager to make B1G jump with Scarlet Knights

Cam Spencer overcame plenty on his road to Rutgers. In his latest challenge, the ultra-competitive Loyola-Maryland transfer is eager to prove he belongs in the Big Ten.

www.nj.com

 

[runner11]

My daughter had a friend who was a bench warmer in high school and barely played who went on to play four years of D1. Talent can be missed. It happens. I'd hire grinders like that kid or Tristen at my company any day. Nothing like proving the doubters wrong.

I shared this anecdote before but the only professional athlete in the big sports from my HS got cut from our HS teams. But that wasn’t the case for Cam. He was a starter/star. Really terrific article posted by SJ and we are unbelievably lucky to have him.

 

[husky429]

My daughter had a friend who was a bench warmer in high school and barely played who went on to play four years of D1. Talent can be missed. It happens. I'd hire grinders like that kid or Tristen at my company any day. Nothing like proving the doubters wrong.

Love Tristen but you definitely don't want to hire the guy, lol.

 

[husky429]

This article details all of it. Knowing what he's fought through physically and how he was overlooked by everyone except his brother's local mid-major University despite dominating in high school makes me love Cam even more...

Meet Rutgers’ Cam Spencer: a competitive ‘animal’ eager to make B1G jump with Scarlet Knights

Meet Rutgers’ Cam Spencer: a competitive ‘animal’ eager to make B1G jump with Scarlet Knights

Cam Spencer overcame plenty on his road to Rutgers. In his latest challenge, the ultra-competitive Loyola-Maryland transfer is eager to prove he belongs in the Big Ten.

www.nj.com

Tough kid. The desire to leave a decent spot at Rutgers makes some more sense now. All that pain just to play for a crappy team would piss off the competitor in me too

 

[Matrim55]

I think folks in this thread are wildly understating Spencer’s athleticism. It’s obviously not his dominant trait, but he didn’t look at all out of his depth against Indiana or Texas. Was constantly able to create separation to get into the lane, always lost his guys off of screens, didn’t get washed 1v1 and had a nose for rebounds in the scrum.

 

[GlastonTim]

Alternate link anyone?

 

[Dove]

 

[Bboy Lace]

Timberlake who?

 

[HuskyHawk]

He’ll never out-run, out-jump, or out-muscle anybody, but he is so smart and so good at putting himself in positions to make plays

Efficiency means maximizing output while minimizing input. Cam is EFFICIENT. Never a wasted dribble or movement, and a great shooter to go with it

Reminds me of Tyler Kolek. Nobody really wanted him out of Cumberland High either.

 

[Cheddie]

Two factors to consider - kids mature at different levels. I remember Rashad Anderson was a terror in HS because he was physically ahead of his peers. On the other hand, some players need more time to build strength, etc.

I really like Cam, but he's also 23, i.e., two years old than Jordan Hawkins. That extra maturity and coaching really make a difference.

 

[Tenspro2002]

He’ll never out-run, out-jump, or out-muscle anybody, but he is so smart and so good at putting himself in positions to make plays

Efficiency means maximizing output while minimizing input. Cam is EFFICIENT. Never a wasted dribble or movement, and a great shooter to go with it

He's got that old-man game, very crafty.

 

[NJHusky]

Alternate link anyone?

Link

FYI, You can just go to archive.is and produce the alternate link

 

[Jaydumo20]

Whether he is athletic or not, does it matter? He makes the team significantly better.

similarly, I've had conversations with people about Samson, where they mention that he only appears to catch lobs, and doesn't have a complete game. Who cares how you get 15 and 7?

 

[navery12]

similarly, I've had conversations with people about Samson, where they mention that he only appears to catch lobs, and doesn't have a complete game. Who cares how you get 15 and 7?

Because as of now that 15 and 7 is a specific game and not the trend. Being able to do more than catch lobs is how you go from a guy who's averaging 7 points and 5 rebounds this year to a guy who is consistently scoring double figures and is an even better player. He doesn't need to do that, because he's already incredibly valuable and has shown a ton of improvement. But it just significantly raises the ceiling of this team if he does develop a jumpshot and some kind of post move

 

[InTheRed]

My favorite part of his game are his runners in the lane. The threes are great, obviously, but those runners are game changers.

 

[JB75]

Good article. Love his game

 

[runner11]

I don't know about "0-star"--I think they give kids 2 just for getting a D1 offer.

He averaged 10/3/3 his first 2 years at Loyola. It's not like some 5* talent was overlooked. He probably could have ended up at a lower-level P6 instead of a mid-major.

The real story of his career is his unbelievable development.

Not totally denying anything you said but the article SJ linked to provides more context. Our guy was leading the country in A/TO ratio, shooting 40+ from 3 through his first 14 games of college before getting hurt. Clearly he has developed but he has always been kinda a stud.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Because as of now that 15 and 7 is a specific game and not the trend. Being able to do more than catch lobs is how you go from a guy who's averaging 7 points and 5 rebounds this year to a guy who is consistently scoring double figures and is an even better player. He doesn't need to do that, because he's already incredibly valuable and has shown a ton of improvement. But it just significantly raises the ceiling of this team if he does develop a jumpshot and some kind of post move

100% adding those skills to his game would add increased value. I'm reminded of the reels and reels of posts trashing AJax for his lack offensive production, but ends up we didn't need him to be that guy to accomplish the goal- and with huge margin of victory. It's natural as a fan base to ask "but cant he give me more" however it doesn't mean that he needs to do more for the team to win. But I hear you, a limited game can be frustrating.