Pero Cameron

Sean Pero MacPherson Cameron MNZM (born 5 June 1974) is a New Zealand basketball coach and former player. A FIBA Hall of Fame member, 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
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'
(Whangārei, New Zealand)
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
2011–2012Gold Coast Blaze (assistant)
2014Waikato Pistons
2015Wellington Saints
2016–2017Gold Coast Rollers
2022Taranaki Airs (assistant)
2022–2023Brisbane Bullets (assistant)
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
Silver medal – second place 2003 Australia
Silver medal – second place 2005 New Zealand
Silver medal – second place 2007 Australia
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 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. 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 as a player,[3] with the official 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] In September 2021, he was reappointed Tall Blacks coach for three years.[13]

In October 2021, Cameron signed a one-year deal to be director of basketball for the Taranaki Airs.[14] He also served as the team's assistant coach in 2022.[15]

In December 2022, Cameron was appointed assistant coach of the Brisbane Bullets for the rest of the 2022–23 NBL season.[16] He parted ways with the Bullets following the season.[17]

Personal life

Cameron's mother, Mata, from the Māori Ngāpuhi iwi,[18] is an ex-New Zealand representative and a long-time coach of New Zealand age groups. His father is Scottish.[19][20] His sister, Jody, is a former Tall Fern, and represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games in Athens 2004.[21] His brother, Ray, is a former Waikato Titans/Pistons player. His other sisters, Jeannie and Zeta, also played basketball at a high level.[22]

Cameron and his wife Jennelle have three children.[23] His sons, Tobias and Flynn, were part of the NZ Junior Tall Blacks team that competed at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.[24] Flynn is a member of the Tall Blacks senior team for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which is coached by his father.

Honours

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. Kiwi hoops legend Pero Cameron confirmed to remain as Tall Blacks head coach
  14. Tall Blacks coach scores role with Taranaki Mountainairs
  15. Tuatara vs Airs
  16. "Pero Cameron joins Bullets as Assistant Coach". brisbanebullets.com.au. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  17. Pike, Chris (24 February 2023). "Boomers boss linked with new gig; Brisbane keen to put 'frustrating' season to bed: NBL Talking Pts". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 7 March 2023. Things have been just as eventual now in the weeks after the season with Melbourne United assistant Justin Schueller named the new head coach while assistants Peter Crawford and Pero Cameron have moved on.
  18. Smith, Tony (12 February 2021). "Māori Sports Awards: Lisa Carrington judged most influential Māori sports star since 1991". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  19. Kiwi Olympians: Pero Cameron
  20. Basketball: Auckland win battle to re-sign Cameron
  21. Jody Cameron – olympic.org.nz
  22. Pero Cameron: Big man, big impact
  23. Pero Cameron heading in a new direction
  24. Wynyard among four big Junior Tall Blacks for Cairo 2017
  25. Jeffries, Rob (15 June 2011). "Basketball: Former Jets skipper Pero Cameron honoured by Queen". ChesterChronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  26. Worthington, Sam (16 June 2011). "Pero Cameron gets Tall Blacks promotion". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
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