Saturday, December 22, 2001
UK's Camara coming around
New starting C finds skill on 'D'
By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEXINGTON — Jules Camara learned he was Kentucky's starting center during a shootaround the afternoon of Tuesday's Duke game. He knew how to react.
“I've got my chance,” he said. “I've just got to prove something. I can't let this slip out of my hands.”
He didn't. Camara had his first double-double of the season in scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against No.1 Duke. After making an adjustment, he also played credible position defense against bruiser Carlos Boozer and blocked a career-high five shots.
Camara will start again today against Indiana, coach Tubby Smith said Friday.
“He's earned that opportunity,” Smith said. “We expect him to give us that same type of play.”
In his three seasons at UK, Camara has not been a model of consistency. But Indiana's lack of a power presence inside fuels Smith's expectations of another productive game for Camara. The Hoosiers' inside tandem is long and lean — Jared Jeffries (6-foot-10, 215 pounds) and George Leach (6-11, 220).
“The thing about Jules is the matchups, what he's giving away in inside "physical-ness,'” Smith said. “He's got to learn how to use his head. He's a pretty intelligent player. He has to use his athleticism and quickness to avoid guys that try to post up deep like Duke did the first couple possessions.”
Boozer drove Camara to the bench with five straight points early in the UK-Duke game. But Camara adjusted.
“He busted me up a couple times,” Camara said. “Once I figured out that if I use my quickness to get in front of him he would have a hard time, that's what I did. I just fronted him all the time. I didn't let him post me up. That's what I've got to do when I play those big guys.”
Camara, who sat out last season as punishment for an alcohol-related arrest and conviction, has made a career of adjusting. That helps explain why he knew he had to seize the unexpected opportunity that came his way against Duke.
The chance came against Duke because UK's previous starting centers this season, Marquis Estill and Marvin Stone, were demoted after being late to Sunday's practice.
When asked about his initial reaction to their tardiness, Smith said, “I wasn't going to bring them (to the Duke game, but) the team voted to bring them along. Put it that way.”
Estill and Stone continue to be subject to disciplinary actions but both will be available today against Indiana.
Camara knows the ups and downs that can occur in a college player's career. That's probably why he kept talking about staying positive when his star dimmed earlier this season.
“It's like deja vu,” he said. “It's not like I haven't been in this situation before.”
Camara began his sophomore season, 1999-2000, as UK's starting center. But after five games in which he averaged 7.2 points and 3.2 rebounds, he came off the bench against Indiana and spot-started (six games) the rest of the season.
Camara vowed to seek consistency this season.
“In every game I want to prove a point,” he said. “I want to block a whole lot of shots. I'm not going to worry about offense because it's going to be there.”
Camara has a new-found liking of shot-blocking.
“That's my game,” he said. “I love blocking shots , especially in a game like that (against Duke). ... It gets the crowd going.
You think about blocking a shot when you play a good team (and) how loud it gets. That's what I love doing. “I'm going to focus on that: running the floor, working the boards. That's what they need me for because we've got people who can score.”
UK's leading scorer, Tayshaun Prince, credited Camara for Kentucky's near-victory over Duke.
“Jules is the most important key to our success in the last game,” Prince said. “He defended Carlos Boozer pretty well despite giving up 60 or 70 pounds. That helped out big time.”
Camara said he hasn't always focused on rebounding and shot-blocking. But the Duke game changed that.
“The game against Duke really helped me with my confidence,” he said. “Maybe it has a lot to do with mental (aspects of basketball). Now, I can say I'm ready to play.”
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UK's Camara coming around
