Pero Cameron

Sean Pero MacPherson Cameron MNZM (born 5 June 1974) is a New Zealand basketball coach and former professional basketball player. A FIBA Hall of Fame player, he captained the New Zealand Tall Blacks from 2000 to 2010, helping lead New Zealand to the semifinal of the 2002 FIBA World Championship, earning an All-Tournament Team selection in the process.

Pero Cameron
Cameron in 2019
New Zealand Tall Blacks
PositionHead coach
Personal information
Born (1974-06-05) 5 June 1974
Tokoroa, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Listed height200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight130 kg (287 lb)
Career information
High schoolWhangarei Boys' High School
Playing career1992–2010
PositionPower forward
Coaching career2010–present
Career history
As player:
1992–1993Waikato Warriors
1994–2000Auckland Stars/Rebels
1995–1996Ipoh Red Eagles
1999–2003Chester Jets
2001–2009Waikato Titans/Pistons
2003–2005New Zealand Breakers
2005–2006Banvit
2007Mahram
2007–2010Gold Coast Blaze
As coach:
2010–2013Wellington Saints
2011–2019New Zealand Tall Blacks (asst.)
2011–2012Gold Coast Blaze (asst.)
2014Waikato Pistons
2015Wellington Saints
2016–2017Gold Coast Rollers
2019–presentNew Zealand Tall Blacks
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As head coach:

FIBA Hall of Fame as player
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  New Zealand
FIBA Oceania Championship
2003 Australia
2005 New Zealand
2007 Australia
Commonwealth Games
2006 Melbourne

Professional career

New Zealand NBL

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Cameron played for Mobil Marters Northland in the Conference Basketball League (CBL) where he won a championship in 1991.[1] In 1992, Cameron began playing in the New Zealand National Basketball League for the Waikato Warriors. He went on to win 11 championships (the most in New Zealand NBL history – nine as a player, two as a coach), made the league's all-star five seven times, and won the Kiwi MVP award five times. During his career, he played for 11 seasons for the Waikato franchise (played under all three names – Warriors, Titans and Pistons) and seven seasons for the Auckland Rebels.

NBL Championships (as player): 9 – Auckland (1995–1997, 1999, 2000), Waikato (2001, 2002, 2008, 2009)
NBL Championships (as coach): 2 – Wellington (2010, 2011)
NBL Rookie of the Year: 1992
NBL All-Star Five: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001
Kiwi MVP: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999
Outstanding Kiwi Forward: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999
Outstanding Forward: 1998
Rebound Champion: 1993
Coach of the Year: 2010

Australian NBL

Cameron played five seasons in the Australian National Basketball League, two for the New Zealand Breakers and three for the Gold Coast Blaze. He played for both clubs in their respective inaugural seasons (Breakers in 2003–04 and Blaze in 2007–08). In a total of 130 ANBL games, he averaged 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.[2]

Overseas

Cameron played six and a half seasons overseas; one for the Ipoh Red Eagles of Malaysia in 1995–96, four for the Chester Jets of England, one for Banvit of Turkey in 2005–06, and half a season playing for Mahram Tehran of Iran in 2007.

National team career

Cameron was first selected for the Tall Blacks in 1994. In 2000, for the Sydney Olympics, he became co-captain of the side, and was elevated to sole captain the following year. Arguably, his most memorable moment as captain of the Tall Blacks came in 2002 when the team stunned the basketball world by making the semi-finals of the 2002 FIBA World Championship, eventually losing to Germany for fourth place. In the tournament, Cameron averaged 14.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and became the only non-NBA player to make the All-Tournament Team. He was joined on this team by established NBA superstars Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojaković and NBA rookies-to-be Yao Ming and Manu Ginóbili.

Cameron retired from international duties having played in two Summer Olympic Games (Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004) and three FIBA World Cups (2002, 2006 and 2010).

In August 2017, Cameron became the first New Zealander to be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, being inducted as a player[3] with the officially ceremony occurring on 30 September 2017 in Switzerland.[4]

Coaching career

Cameron began his coaching career with the Wellington Saints in 2010, going on to lead the club to a sixth NBL championship and winning the Coach of the Year award in his first year. He led the Saints to a second consecutive championship in 2011 and subsequently joined the Gold Coast Blaze's coaching staff as an assistant in 2011–12.

In June 2011, Cameron was named an assistant coach of the Tall Blacks.[5]

After two more seasons as the Saints' head coach, Cameron joined his beloved Waikato Pistons as the team's head coach/player development manager for the 2014 season.[6] However, in November 2014, the Pistons pulled out of the 2015 season due to financial reasons and he subsequently returned to the Saints head coaching position on a one-year deal on 14 January 2015.[7]

On 9 December 2015, Cameron joined the Gold Coast Rollers as the men's team head coach for the 2016 Queensland Basketball League season.[8] He continued on as coach of the Rollers in 2017.[9]

In December 2019, after eight years of being an assistant, Cameron was appointed head coach of the Tall Blacks.[10][11][12]

Personal life

Cameron and his wife, Jennelle have three children.[13] His mother, Mata, is an ex-New Zealand representative and current coach of New Zealand age groups. His father is Scottish.[14][15] His sister, Jody, is a former Tall Fern, and represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games in Athens 2004. Jody is the current coach of the New Zealand Junior Tall Ferns. His brother, Ray, is a former Waikato Titans/Pistons player. His other sisters, Jeannie and Zeta, are also former New Zealand Basketball Junior representatives. His sons, Tobias and Flynn, were part of the NZ Junior Tall Blacks team that competed at the 2017 U19 FIBA World Championships in Cairo, Egypt.

Honours
  • FIBA World Cup's All-Tournament Team – 2002
  • Maori Sportsman of the Year – 2002
  • Sparc Leadership Award – 2003
  • Commonwealth Games  Silver – 2006
  • Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to basketball – 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours.[16][17]
  • Inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame – 2017

References
  1. SportRITE - Two good reasons for keeping our stars here
  2. Player statistics for Pero Cameron
  3. Tall Blacks legend Pero Cameron first New Zealander to make Fiba's Hall of Fame
  4. Pero Cameron inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame as family celebrate with a haka
  5. Cameron takes Tall Blacks coaching role
  6. Pero Cameron the man Pistons can look up to
  7. Pero Cameron to return as Wellington Saints coach for NBL
  8. Pero Cameron accepts the job of coach with the Gold Coast Rollers for next QBL season
  9. The future’s looking reel bright for Adekponya on the Gold Coast
  10. Kiwi hoops legend Pero Cameron likely to get nod as interim Tall Blacks coach
  11. New Tall Blacks coach Pero Cameron says he'll ask Steven Adams to end his exile
  12. PROUD AND HUMBLED PERO CAMERON NAMED AS TALL BLACKS HEAD COACH
  13. Pero Cameron heading in a new direction
  14. Kiwi Olympians: Pero Cameron
  15. Basketball: Auckland win battle to re-sign Cameron
  16. Jeffries, Rob (15 June 2011). "Basketball: Former Jets skipper Pero Cameron honoured by Queen". ChesterChronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  17. Worthington, Sam (16 June 2011). "Pero Cameron gets Tall Blacks promotion". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
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