Basketball: Clipboard may lure Cameron into retirement

Peron Cameron says his body is showing signs that his playing days are coming to an end. Photo / Getty Images

For such a big bloke Pero Cameron is remarkably nimble of foot when it comes to evading talk of retirement.

The New Zealand basketball legend gives the question a delicate soft shoe shuffle despite the dreaded R word interrupting his own thoughts ahead of his 35th birthday on Friday.

It's not so much the milestone that causes his brow to furrow because numbers have never meant a damned thing to him, unless of course they are on the scoreboard and the minutes are ticking down.

Rather, the 1.98m Cameron hasn't a clue when he will untie his boot laces for the final time. All he knows is that his body will tell him when the time is right.

His ample frame, invariably listed at 130kg in match programmes down the years, has been dropping some hints this winter that the time to sign off may not be too far away.

He has had restricted court time for his beloved Waikato Pistons in the National Basketball League (NBL) due to a persistent ankle sprain.

One of life's realities is now staring him in the face because all sportspeople know that once you hit your 30s the niggles, once shaken off easily, tend to linger longer.

"I still really enjoy playing, especially here in the Waikato, even though it's been unbelievably cold in the last week or two," he said.

"I still want to play but if the time comes when I can't then perhaps I will have to turn to something else."

Asked whether he will only know when that time arrives once he gets there, Cameron counters: "Every now and then it feels as if I've already passed that point."

His coach at Waikato, Dean Vickerman, is one who much prefers a semi-fit Cameron at his side than no Cameron at all.

"He is still having some trouble doing back-to-back practices but if he's not on the floor training he is certainly influential from the sidelines in a coaching capacity. He is great to have around practice."

Cameron has the voice for coaching, a trait he has displayed for the best part of two decades as a player. His teammates have long grown used to being barked at, at the appropriate times.

"He is a fantastic leader who backs up what he says," Vickerman said.

Cameron's presence in the Waikato squad was one of the primary reasons Vickerman was keen to coach the team this season.

"An incentive of mine to take on this team was to have the opportunity to coach Pero.

"I had previously seen how passionate he was about New Zealand basketball and how well he thinks this country can do on a world stage regardless of the personnel.

"He just gives everyone such a strong belief that they can win."

Cameron's career highlight came in 2002 when he was named in the tournament team after guiding New Zealand to an unprecedented fourth placing at the world championship in the United States.

So his standing in the annals of New Zealand basketball is unchallenged.

And his retirement, when it inevitably comes, should be a time for celebration not commiseration, because it will almost certainly bring him closer to day one of his life as a coach.

Cameron is one of those rare beasts who seems well equipped to cross over from being a doer to being a talker and motivator of men.

Vickerman predicts such a transition will be accomplished comfortably by Cameron, who has been studying for a sports science degree at Waikato University.

"I think he would be a huge loss to New Zealand basketball if he didn't decide to coach afterwards.

"It is something I think he has in the back of his mind.

"We talk about coaching and he sees that it will take him a little bit of time to separate from being a player to a coach. He sees that I have the ability to do that.

"We spend a lot of time travelling back and forth with players but when we are at practice it is different. You can be friends off the court but on the court you have to be hard and honest.

"He will certainly have those qualities as well."

As he ages the long-time Tall Blacks go-to man keeps racking up the stats, the last of them being the magical NBL 300-match mark which he reached last week against Wellington.

He now sits third on the all-time list for New Zealanders in the NBL, behind Kent Mori (320 games) and Steve Campbell (305).

"I would have been up around 400 by now if these injuries hadn't been so bad," Cameron said, only half jokingly.

His first game at the top level domestically was for Waikato against Wellington, in the YMCA in Hamilton in 1992.

He was a 17-year-old rookie getting a numb bum sitting on the bench in his first season, his brief being to watch, listen and learn.

But he was given precious minutes on the court against Wellington, where he marked his first mentor, Ralph Adams, who coached him as a teen.

Adams, in his early 30s at the time, had tutored Cameron a few years earlier when both were in Whangarei, Cameron doing a fine job in growing up in a hurry while Adams was grafting a living from the game.

"That whole year was predominantly training," Cameron recalled of 1992 working his butt off to impress Waikato coach Murray McMahon.

"I had to get my thrills at training because that is where I learned my skills. I felt lucky to be allowed to sit on the bench and take stats for the team.

" Everyone has to do the hard work early, mate. You have to pay your dues and you will get your opportunity a little bit later."

Budding basketballers out there should repeat those words to themselves.

- NZPA