Cam Spencer 2024 NBA Draft Profile
We are less than 48 hours away from the 2024 NBA Draft! It’s almost here! With that said, we are continuing our draft profile series with UConn guard Cam Spencer. Let’s dive into it!
Height: 6’3 (6’5 wingspan, 8’2.50″ standing reach)
Weight: 201.8 lbs
Draft Age: 24.2
Position: Guard
Spencer was an unranked prospect out of The Boys’ Latin School in Baltimore, M.D., according to 247Sports. He joined Loyola (MD), where he made the Patriot League All-Freshman team after averaging 10.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 23 games before COVID shut everything down. He underwent hip surgery the following season, which limited him to just five games.
Spencer ultimately returned and made the 2021-22 All-Patriot team after averaging 18.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals on 46.8 percent shooting and 57.2 percent true shooting. He then transferred to Rutgers before transferring to UConn as a super senior, where he was an All-Big East guard and was a key contributor to their national title run.
Let’s dive into some of his strengths and weaknesses, shall we?
Strengths:
Cam Spencer was Dan Hurley’s player personified. Spencer possessed the same competitive nature, fire, will, etc., as his head coach. He may not be the most talented or athletic player on the floor–but Spencer is a competitive psychopath–in the best way imaginable.
Spencer was a lights-out shooter from 3-point range–one of the best in this class. He can either come off movement–he was deadly coming off screens–or simply be a premier stand-still spot-up threat. He canned 44.0 percent of his 5.6 triples per game this year and 41.7 percent of his 5.1 attempts over his five-year career. He only had one shooting season where he shot below 43.0 percent from deep (35.3 percent in ’21-22).
What made Spencer the perfect fit at UConn was he played within the flow of their complex, spaced-out offense that ran actions with countless counters. When the ball was in his hands, he made the right reads and didn’t force too much; but Spencer could also play off-ball alongside Tristen Newton and Stephon Castle, which made him a lethal floor spacer and movement shooter to account for.
I see his potential role being similar at the NBA level. He may not be relied upon to create a ton, but as long as he enters a context where he’s able to move off-ball at a minimum, there’s a world where he could fit. The shooting prowess should carry over, even though he’s not the biggest duck in the pond. He could also be a secondary/tertiary creator if he needs to be.
Weaknesses:
Spencer has one of the worst athletic profiles in this draft. He carried just a 23.0-inch standing vertical and a 30.5-inch max vertical–which were the fourth- and sixth-worst in the entire combine. He also totaled mediocre marks in the three-quarter sprint, shuttle run and lane agility time. He doesn’t have great size to make up for those deficiencies either, which don’t typically bode well.
That makes me wonder how he’ll fare on both ends of the floor. Defensively, teams picked on him and that’s not going to change–even with his competitive nature. He could carve out a role as a great shooter, but his margin for error is razor-thin on both ends of the court.
Projection: Mid-Second Round
I really want to give Spencer the benefit of the doubt long-term. He’s competitive as hell and is a smart basketball player on both ends–which, to an extent, helps compensate for his lack of length. He’s a deadeye shooter with good ball skills. I think he begins his career in the G-League on a two-way and I really hope he enters a system where he can maximize his skill set. I love dudes like him who are competitive psychopaths.
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