You can’t dive into NEPSAC basketball without knowing the name Nelson.
First it was Mackenzie, who led St. Luke’s to a Class B championship in 2022-23 before graduating and heading off to Virginia Tech. Now it’s Camdyn Nelson carrying the torch for the Storm entering this winter.
Nelson is the reigning Class B Player of the Year, a lightning-quick point guard who averaged 21 points as a junior. The Greenwich, Conn., native shined for the Empire State Blue Flames in AAU play, one of the top teams on the Select Power 24 circuit. Nelson has one more year to light up the prep school scene before she plays at Syracuse in college. She occupies one of the spots on our preseason All-New England team.
We caught up with St. Luke’s coach Kwame Burwell, who broke down what makes Nelson one of the region’s most electric talents.
MORE: Preseason All-New England team | NEPSAC Power Rankings
Tough to contain
“She's always under control. I call her the silent assassin, sort of, because she's super quiet with how she approaches the game, and then she just strikes. She’ll lull you to sleep and then just go right by you (and) get downhill. She put on some muscle, as well as putting herself in position to absorb the contact as she gets to the rim. She's finishing at a high clip around the rent through contact and getting herself to the free throw line often.”
A developing jumper
“One workout session this past summer, I was watching her, she missed a little bit, and then she hit, like, 16 (3-pointers) in a row. So I was like, ‘OK, Cam’s been working on her 3-point shot.’ She's made it her priority to shoot the ball more. Her going into Syracuse next season, she understands that she has to kind of build on her game a little bit more from the shooting aspect of it. And it's not because she can't make the shot — it’s because her ability is so strong driving that she almost doesn't have to rely on shooting as much right now. But we're pushing her to actually use her 3-point shot a little bit more (and) also her pull-up off one or two dribbles, because she's really effective at it.”
Making the right play
“She's going to put up some really good numbers in some games, but I also think in some games, you're going to see more of the double-double-type player in her. She played with Empire (Blue Flames) this past season for AAU (and) she averaged eight assists on the Power 24 circuit. That's a really, really good circuit. So for her to average about 11 points and 8 assists — to me, I think she's gonna come in more like a Damian Lillard that can score it, but also, if you double-team her, she's finding the open players and getting other players involved.”
Growing her confidence
“She's never been the type to communicate — when I say communicate, she doesn't use her voice as much. (But) even before this season, she's talking a lot to the girls. She's getting the girls riled up. She's communicating what we need to do in the weight room to the girls. She’s in the gym when we're having open gyms and leading with her voice more so, and they're following her a little bit more in the sense of, ‘Oh, wow. This is different. Cam is talking.’ But I think with that leadership ability, you see it more in her actions, but you're going to see it a lot more in her voice this season. That's going to give the other players the confidence that they need to actually perform well.”
Fit at Syracuse
“I think you'll see her point guard ability reach an ultimate high going into Syracuse, because she already can do that. She'll be surrounded by top-tier talent that'll actually allow her to be an effective point guard and also allow her to be effective in the pick-and-roll, especially from the midpoint. So I think she can get downhill a lot from the top of the key and get into her range to get her pull-up off, or even just catch and shoot.”
