Ahead of the Tall Black’s semi-final at 10.30pm NZT tonight against Australia in the Asia Cup, it is worth delving into the remarkable play of point guard, Flynn Cameron.
At age 22, Cameron has emerged as a efficient, all-around leader for this young Tall Blacks team. After five games played in the Asia Cup, he’s also been dominant for the Tall Blacks in a number of statistical categories – with his elevated play being instrumental in the team winning four of their five games and progressing to the semi-finals.
Here’s a deep dive into the stats for Flynn Cameron in this FIBA Asia Cup.
Scoring
Flynn is the Tall Black’s leading scorer at 14.4 ppg, which ranks 20th in the Asia Cup tournament; he’s also 9th overall in total points scored with 72 – this despite playing significantly fewer minutes (20.5 mins) than all but one Asia Cup player ranked above him.
He has achieved this while shooting 49% from the field, which places him third on the team behind centres Sam Timmins and Jordan Hunt. That percentage also puts him 7th overall amongst all guards in the Asia Cup.
Cameron is second on the team in three point shooting percentage (39.1%) – only behind New Zealand’s other breakout player, Taki Fahrensohn – and is sinking 1.8 threes per game.
He also leads the team in free throw shooting percentage (91.7%), having missed only 1 free throw from 12 taken. That percentage is good enough for fifth place in the Asia Cup – and at 22 years old, Flynn is the only player under the age of 27 years in the top five of this category, a testament to his mature play.
Flynn’s 2.2 made free throws per game, ties him with Sam Mennenga and Taylor Britt for first on the team.
Passing
Flynn leads the Tall Blacks with 4.6 assists, which places him 10th in the Asia Cup competition and 7th in total assists (23). This figures accounts for over 22% of New Zealand’s total assists as a team – and means that Cameron has assisted on 14% on all Tall Blacks field goals over five games.
He does this while limiting his turnovers to 1.6 per game, giving him a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio; easily tops on the team with Britt (1.8) the next best in this category.
Rebounding
Although he is a 6’3” point guard, Flynn is currently fourth on the team in rebounds with 5.8 per game; behind big men Sam Mennenga (7.8rpg), Timmins (7.4) and Tohi Smith-Milner (6.0). This rate places Cameron just behind Australia’s William McDowell-White in rebounds per game for a guard, and first in total rebounds.
This also reflects an incredible performance by New Zealand – who are the tournament’s leading rebounders in the Asia Cup – around its guard rebounding; the Tall Blacks boasting 4 players in the top 6 overall for offensive rebounds by a guard, led by Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Fahrensohn (8 apiece), Cameron (6) and Taine Murray (5).
Steals & Efficiency
Flynn leads to Tall Blacks with 1.2 steals per game – having made a pair of steals in three of his five games in the tournament. This number accounts for over 20% of New Zealand’s total steals as a team.
Unsurprisingly, he also paces the team in Efficiency Per Game (18.8), the next best player Mennenga with 13.5 – with the team average being 8.7.
This places Cameron 5th overall in the Asia Cup in Total Efficiency (94) and 12th in Efficiency Per Game – made all the more remarkable by the fact by he is easily the youngest player in the both categories, and has played the least minutes of all of them.
Summary
In leading his team to the Asia Cup semi-finals – while also leading the squad in multiple categories – it’s safe to say this has been a breakout campaign for Flynn Cameron at just 22 years old.
Coming into the squad with a reputation as a solid playmaker and defender, Cameron has surprised many this campaign with his reliable three point shot, and has displayed a poise on the court which defies his young age.
