Drafting Demetri McCamey

The senior guard out of Illinois spent four years in college perfecting his crave, showing the college world that he can be a legit NBA point guard. The promise was there in the beginning of the season, he showed excellent poise, being the setup man while displaying he has range from three. But unfortunately for McCamey the big man on campus went to his head. McCamey midway through the season was called out by Coach Bruce Weber, for lacking effort and letting off court distractions effect his game. It didn't help that McCamey didn't accept responsibility, instead placed blame on those distracting him. Coach Weber also when on to say McCamey work ethic was not the same as in the past. That's all NBA scouts need to hear, before placing you on the red flag list. Once considered the Deron Williams type place, McCamey 6'3,  205 showed that same type of style that caught scouts attention. But with a closer look NBA teams have started to breakdown McCamey's faults.      
The strengths to McCamey's game are; great court vision, has the ability to penetrate, also display excellent ball handling skills. For a point guard he shoots that ball very well from three, 45% this season. Showed some promise in his ability to create space off the dribble. When leading a fast break McCamey made excellent reads on the situation. Effective point guard and a leader of the team in the early part of the season. Has high basketball IQ for a PG.
The weaknesses in McCamey's game start with his lack of defense. He wasn't always aware on the court and showed that he couldn't keep the quicker guards in front of him. He isn't explosive when trying to get to the lane, needs to improve his floater. Didn't like to create opportunities of driving the lane and relied too much on his jumper. Out of the 11 shots McCamey took per game 5 of them were three pointers. Plus the work ethic questions won't go away, McCamey will need to focus on improving his game, and less about distractions.
While seeing his stock drop from mid first rounder to mid second round pick, McCamey might have something to prove. Thus making him a sleeper in this years draft. Most mock drafts like DraftExpress.com and NBAdraft.net, have him going to the Portland Trailblazers with the 21st pick in the second round. That would be an outstanding fit for McCamey, with the tutelage from Andre Miller, who seems to have a similar style of place, he could learn how to run Coach McMillan's second unit. McCamey showed a lot of promise at the start of the college season. While leading the Fighting Illini to huge wins over Maryland, Gonzaga and NC on a big stage like Madison Square Garden, he showed potential to be a good fit for a NBA team. The issue that General Managers and NBA scouts will look at it the off court distractions, and how he handles the interview process. Although he didn't seem to improve his stock at the NBA draft combine, all it takes is one team to give him a chance, and he might show that he was worth it.