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1 - Cameron Payne

6-2, 185 Point Guard
Murray St. Sophomore
Birthday
08/08/94 (29.6 yrs)
Hometown
Bartlett, TN
High School
Lausanne Collegiate
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
7
Size
8
Defense
8
Strength
7
Quickness
7
Leadership
8
Jump Shot
8
NBA Ready
8
Ball Handling
8
Potential
8
Passing
8
Intangibles
8

NBA Comparison: George Hill/Devin Harris

Strengths: Intelligent point guard with a great basketball IQ and feel for the game … At 6-foot-3, has good height for the position … Lefty scoring point guard who can mix things up with strong passing abilities … Has the ability to shoot and finish off the dribble … Can knock down 3-pointers without much room from his defender … Has nice range on his shot … Capable of pulling up from different spots on the floor and knocking down mid-range shots … Shooting mechanics are consistent … Possesses a nice floater and runner in the paint … Quick release and good elevation on his jump shots … Shooting efficiency from mid-range and 3-point range jumped across the board from his freshman season … Can operate very well out of pick-and-rolls in half court offense … In pick-and-roll situations, he’s shown the ability to take his man off of the dribble or pull up for a jump shot … Outstanding court vision and awareness on offense … Is a playmaker … Terrific assist-to-turnover ratio … Able to make quick and sharp passes while on the move … Quality ball-handling skills and keeps the ball low when dribbling … Very quick with and without the ball (in half court or transition) … Able to change paces well off the dribble … Shifty player who can find angles in a defense … Is savvy and creative with the ball off the dribble … Can get in the paint and uses his creativity when scoring … Has a variety of moves when he finishes at the basket … Creates offense for himself and for teammates … Up tempo player who looks to set up his teammates before defenses can set up … Timely and accurate passer (likes to make “thread the needle” passes) … Always looks to make entry passes to his bigs and keep them involved … Finds open shooters out on the perimeter … Defensively, he has quick hands and reacts well in the passing lanes (averaged 1.9 steals per game) … Pesky defender who has a nose for the ball … Uses his length and timing/anticipation well in passing lanes and can cleanly strip opposing players … Can move well laterally … Solid one-on-one defender … Is good at staying in front of opposing guards off of the dribble … Intense and fearless player with killer instincts and controlled aggression … Takes and makes big shots … Can takeover a game and will his team to a win … Shows the leadership qualities that you would want from your starting point guard … Very confident player …

Weaknesses: Although he’s long/lanky (which is a plus), he does not have the best physical attributes … Thin body frame … Needs to get stronger … Is not and explosive player off the dribble … Cannot jump out the gym … Not a high flier … Good athleticism but not at an elite level … Lack of explosiveness off the dribble limits shots at the rim … Does not possesses a tremendous first step … Forces the issue on offense at times … Can be turnover prone (averaged 2.5 turnovers per game) … Has to learn to make simple passes more often … Decision making can improve … Plays too fast sometimes … Needs to tighten up his shot selection (takes low percentage shots) … Sometimes takes tough shots because he does not create enough space for himself to shoot them cleanly … Takes difficult shots away from the basket … Shoots jumpers too early in the shot clock at times … Tendency to settle for floaters instead of getting all the way to the rim … Does not finish strongly around the basket … Struggles to finish over big men and through contact … Finishing ability with both hands can improve … Thin body can sometimes get caught up in picks … Struggles with defending pick-and-rolls because his lack of strength makes him unable to fight through screens … Gets lost in these situation, as loses his man when he fails to run over a screen … Bigger guards with sufficient handles can overpower him when driving to the basket … His ability to deny penetration can improve …

Notes: The 20-year-old point guard entered this season as a hidden gem. All he ended up doing was leading Murray State to 29-6 record, including a perfect 16-0 conference season and 25-game winning streak, before losing to Old Dominion in the NIT quarterfinals … Cameron Payne was tasked with taking over the reins of leadership and on court production after the Racers lost Isaiah Canaan, who graduated and was selected in last year’s NBA draft … He responded by averaging 20.2 points on 45 percent shooting, including 37 percent from the 3-point line, 6.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals … The sophomore guard led Murray in points (707), assists (87) and steals (68) … Despite playing at a small school and without much publicity, the lefty has shown that he can hold his own against tougher competition and in big games over the course of his collegiate career … He scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists against Xavier early in the season … He’s a fiery competitor at the point guard position who can score and create for his teammates … Payne was selected to the Associated Press All-American team as an honorable mention … He’s just the second Murray St. player to do so this decade (Canaan is the other) … He was also named 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year … After a strong and successful freshman campaign, he was named to the 2015 Cousy Watch List before the season … On April 4th declared his name for the NBA draft …

Tajh Jenkins 4/4/15

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