Young star reflects on rookie campaign

Watching Flynn Cameron play in NBL24, it would have been easy to forget that it was just his first professional campaign.

Across 31 games, the Kiwi guard was often inserted into the contest by Head Coach Dean Vickerman for a burst of offensive energy, or to help lock down an opposing scorer.

Cameron willingly obliged, much to the celebration of the United faithful, like when he splashed four three-pointers in Melbourne’s Round 7 Throwdown victory against the SEM Phoenix.

Looking back on the first 31 games of his NBL career, Cameron said he learnt quickly thanks to the experience surrounding him.

“I learnt a lot in my first year,” he told Melbourne United Media.

“Just the day-to-day habits of what it takes to be a pro. Watching and playing with guys like Shili (Shea Ili) and Delly (Matthew Dellavedova). Seeing how they operate, what they’re seeing on the floor, it’s helped me get better.

“The transition was a good one and I think the group we had and the success we had was a part of that.

“In the end, we were two-points short of the goal, and that’s something that I look at and think  ‘we’re almost there’.”

A player who hit the court in every regular season game, including all 14 home games, Cameron said it was an adjustment initially to get used to the sheer noise produced by the fans inside John Cain Arena.

Looking ahead to his second year with the club, he spoke about his desire to deliver success to United’s loyal supporters.

“In college I never got to play in front of a big home crowd, so that was something that really shocked me, just the amount of energy we could feel from the crowd.

“I’m super happy to be a part of Melbourne United. There’s a winning culture here, this is a team that is capable of getting it done and we want to show that when we’re all back next season.

“We’ve got a lot of our leaders coming back next season, so it’s just about continuing to take steps in the right direction.”

Currently, Cameron is back in New Zealand playing in the NZNBL for the Taranaki Airs alongside former MU guard Mitch McCarron and Illawarra Hawks big man Sam Froling.

Averaging close to 17 points per game, his aim is to continue working on his game ahead of what he hopes is another season full of wins with Melbourne.

“I really wanted to take what I learnt from the NBL and put it into this NZNBL season, which has been easy thanks to my teammates.

“We’ve all got a common goal to get better.”

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