Jason Cameron (born 20 February 1974) is an Australian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who played nine seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 200 cm

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

from

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

also spent multiple years in the

Queensland Basketball League NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

and the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

where he won numerous awards during the 2000s.

Early life

Cameron was born in

Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...

NBL career

Brisbane Bullets (1991)

Cameron first played in the National Basketball League during the

1991 season File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, 1991 Russian presidential election, elected as Russia's first President of Russia, president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated ...

as a development player for the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...

. He received limited opportunities in his first season, as the Bullets failed to make the playoffs with a win/loss record of 13–13 and a ninth-place finish. In two games for Brisbane, he played a total of 155 seconds and recorded one rebound while missing both field goals he attempted.

Townsville Suns (1993–1998)

After not being retained by the Bullets for the

1992 season Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

, Cameron moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

where he joined the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

(AIS) and played for the program's basketball team in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA). In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, Cameron returned to the NBL as he joined the

Townsville Suns The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...

for the club's inaugural season. His first full season in the NBL proved to be very effective as he provided the Suns with good minutes off the bench for the first half of the season before earning a starting spot alongside Ricky Jones and David Blades for the majority of the second half of the season. In 22 games, he averaged 5.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game as the Suns finished their first season with a dismal 4–22 win/loss record and a last place finish. Cameron played in a career-low 18 games (not including his development player season) for the Suns in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and subsequently averaged 4.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game. In

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, the Suns showed improvement with a 9–17 win/loss record on the season. Cameron's production increased as he averaged 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 26 games. He was also selected to the Future Forces game held during the NBL All-Star Weekend in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. In the following

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, Cameron's points numbers dropped to 5.8 per game despite starting in most of the Suns' games. Cameron's best season in the NBL came in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

with career-highs of 12.3 points and 1.6 steals, in addition to 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. On 8 August 1997, Cameron hit the 20-point mark for the first time in his career in a win over the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

. Cameron's best NBL season corresponded with the Suns also having their best season in 1997 as they finished with a 14–16 win/loss record a seventh-place finish, one win off a playoff spot that Brisbane nabbed with 15 wins. While his points averages did drop in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, Cameron still managed to average a career-high 4.7 rebounds and score a career-high 22 points on 27 March in a win over the

Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After t ...

. 1998 marked the end of the Suns brand as the club changed their name to the Crocodiles for the

1998–99 NBL season The 1998–99 NBL season was the 21st season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. This season marked the first summer season for the NBL. The Townsville Suns were renamed the Townsville Crocodi ...

. With 151 games played out of the Suns' 164, Cameron was the only player to have played in all six Suns seasons.

Final years in NBL (1998–2000)

Cameron was one of six Suns players to stick with the club for the Crocodiles' inaugural season in 1998–99. But with the name change came a career-low season for Cameron as he averaged just 2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 26 games. After parting ways with Townsville following a disappointing 1998–99 season, Cameron moved back to Brisbane and re-joined the Bullets for the 1999–2000 NBL season. In what was Cameron's final season in the NBL, he averaged 5.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 28 games.

Post-NBL career

South West Metro Pirates (2003)

Between 1999 and 2003, Cameron played in the

(QBL) for the Mackay Meteors and the South West Metro Pirates. Playing for the Pirates in 2003, Cameron guided them to a maiden QBL championship and a trip to the ABA National Finals. There, the Pirates faced off against the

Canberra Gunners The Canberra Gunners are an Australian basketball team based in Canberra. The Gunners compete in the Men's NBL1 East and play their home games at Belconnen Stadium. The team is affiliated with Basketball ACT, the governing body for basketball in ...

on 29 August for a spot in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, with a 102–83 loss, they were knocked out of the championship race, and the following day, they faced fellow eliminated quarter-finalist

Forestville Eagles Forestville Eagles is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching Forestville Eagles Basketball Club (FEBC), the major administrative ba ...

, also losing this encounter 118–102. Despite their two losses, Cameron was named to the ABA Finals All-Star Five alongside NBL players Daniel Egan and Chris Stauber.

Bendigo Braves (2004–2007)

In 2004, Cameron moved south to join the

Bendigo Braves Bendigo Braves is a NBL1 South club based in Bendigo, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of the overarching Bendigo Braves Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball organ ...

of the

(SEABL). In just his second season with the Braves, he returned to the ABA National Finals playing alongside future

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...

legend

Shawn Redhage Shawn Michael Redhage (born 21 January 1981) is an American-Australian former professional basketball player who is most known for his 12 seasons played with the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played four years of co ...

. The Braves won all but five regular season games in 2005 and were successful in claiming the SEABL South championship with a 105–99 grand final win over the Kilsyth Cobras. The Braves went on to cap off a spectacular season with a 102–98 ABA Grand Final win over the Sydney City Comets, as Cameron earned Grand Final MVP honours. Two seasons later, the Braves repeated as SEABL South champions and booked themselves a place in the 2007 Australian Club Championships (ACC) with another South Grand Final defeat of the Kilsyth Cobras. In the 74–63 win, Cameron earned Grand Final MVP honours. Despite having the confidence of their 2005 win behind them, the Braves were convincingly beaten 100–70 by

Big V Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

champions the Dandenong Rangers in their quarter-final match-up. In what was Cameron's final game for the Braves, he scored 12 points in the disappointing loss. In 98 games for the Braves over four seasons (being co-captain for the last three alongside Ben Harvey), Cameron averaged 14.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

Return to South West Metro (2008–2010)

In 2008, Cameron returned to Queensland where he re-joined the South West Metro Pirates as a player/coach. He made an immediate impact over the first three games, averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds while earning Player of the Week honours for Round 3. The Pirates held top position on the ladder for a long stretch of the 2008 season, and with an 8–0 record by mid-June, Cameron earned the Coach of the Month honours for the season's second month. They were competition front-runners from Rounds 7 through 11 and showed they were up to any challenge thrown at them. On 30 June, the Pirates played the UNLV Runnin' Rebels college basketball team in their fifth of six exhibition games on their tour of Australia. Hosting the Rebels at the

Queensland Academy of Sport The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1991 by the Queensland Government to support athletes in the state of Queensland. Its headquarters are currently located at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in ...

's Athletics Centre, the Pirates were easily defeated 97–55 despite a notable 14-point effort from Cameron. Cameron and teammate Brendan Teys were superb throughout the QBL season and helped the Pirates win their quarter-final match-up against the Logan Thunder. The Pirates unfortunately lost to the Townsville Heat in the semi-final despite having won the earlier season match-up with the Heat in Round 2. Cameron was subsequently named the QBL Coach of the Year. Returning to the Pirates in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

as captain/coach, Cameron guided the club to a third straight semi-final, but again could not get them over the hump as they were beaten by the eventual champions Cairns Marlins in a 37-point thrashing. In what was his final game as coach of the Pirates, Cameron recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds in the 115–78 loss. In January 2010, Cameron was replaced as coach of the Pirates by former NBL player and Australian Boomer

Stephen Black Stephen Black (born 5 April 1980) is an Australian former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). He is the son of Alan Black. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Black attended the Australian ...

. Cameron did return as just a player for the Pirates in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, alongside fellow returnees Nate Niesler and Troy Thomson, and continued to captain the team. However, he managed just 13 games for the Pirates in 2010 due to injury and subsequently retired from basketball at the end of the season.

NBL career statistics

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, style="text-align:left;",

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

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, style="text-align:left;",

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, 22 , , , , , , .457 , , .286 , , .692 , , 2.9 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Townsville , 18 , , , , , , .484 , , .471 , , .474 , , 3.2 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Townsville , 26 , , , , , , .477 , , .351 , , .636 , , 4.2 , , 2.4 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, style="text-align:left;", Townsville , 25 , , , , , , .404 , , .366 , , .529 , , 3.5 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Townsville , 30 , , , , , , .482 , , .419 , , .706 , , 4.5 , , 2.3 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Townsville , 30 , , , , , , .415 , , .366 , , .778 , , 4.7 , , 1.6 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;", Townsville , 26 , , , , , , .304 , , .275 , , .429 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .1 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1999–2000 , style="text-align:left;", Brisbane , 28 , , , , , , .390 , , .273 , , .448 , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 207 , , , , , , .434 , , .355 , , .623 , , 3.4 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 6.5

References

External links

Eurobasket.com profileNBL statsQBL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Jason 1974 births Living people Australian men's basketball players Brisbane Bullets players Small forwards Sportsmen from Queensland Townsville Crocodiles players