A player to be proud of in Cameron Rundles.
The buzzer had gone in the game between the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders and the One Health Sheffield Sharks and by the time I had exchanged pleasantries with those around me and surveyed the court to identify the players to talk to for post-game quotes, the hardwood was awash with fans rushing to surround their favourite players for an autograph or seven.
After every Riders contest there is always one player in particular who I look to for a quote and he can often be found with a smile on his face, a pen in his hand and a group of fans asking for his time. And on a snowy Saturday night in February the scene I was faced with was no different.
I stepped carefully through the crowd to get to the player camouflaged by kids and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Can I have a few words once you’re finished?”
“Sure.”
Surrounded by a gaggle of children, he was just one of a number of Riders players who stayed on the floor after the game to engage with fans; building friendships and promoting the team in the process.
After about ten minutes of frenzied fan activity, the loyal Leicester followers filtered out of the building, at which point the players took their tired bodies to the locker room to rest and wash away the aches of the game just played.
But one man remained.
Putting the finishing touches to what must have been a tired looking signature by that point, the player I’d asked to speak to made his way across the court to speak to a couple of media members while I sat on the collapsed stands with Coach Paternostro, posing predictable questions about ‘freethrow shooting’ (a topic that seems to crop up after every game and something the Coach must be tired of being asked) and listening intently to a man with years of experience generously give me a thoughtful answer.
As the coach talked about percentages and the need for an improvement by his team, I saw a physically and, by this stage, mentally drained Rider peel away from a radio interview and drop himself down onto the empty stand beside me, fulfilling his word to answer my questions.
As the interview with Rob Paternostro came to it’s inevitable conclusion, I thanked Rob for his time, wished him goodnight and walked along the stand to a visibly exhausted player. I slapped hands with him and congratulated him on a good game, taking a seat next to him as I did so.
The player I had been looking to speak to was Cameron Rundles: First year BBL point guard, Captain of the Leicester Riders and a man who had clearly found his previously missing mojo.
Rundles started the season at a blistering pace, averaging 19.2 ppg a night through the first three months of the season, lighting up the league and exciting fans with his heady play. But since the start of 2012, Cameron had struggled to hit the same highs, something he openly admits to.
But on this night, Rundles had gone for 20 points and six assists, helping lead his team to a crucial home win over the struggling Sharks to improve their league record to 10-3. However, it’s not just Cameron’s on-court abilities that impress, it’s his honesty and accountability that strike a note:
“Being a captain is a lot of responsibility. When things are bad it’s your fault,” Rundles said unprompted.
“I’m a stand up guy. The couple of loses that we took, I take it on myself. Not just playing bad – I did play bad – I think other things. In the Cheshire game I didn’t shoot the ball well but I think I played a good floor game. I think the team feeds off my energy just bringing up the ball, not just being the captain but when you see your point guard bringing up the ball a lot of eyes are on me a lot of time so when I’m dropping my head and things aren’t going well and we’re losing, that affects our whole team.”
It was brutal honesty from Paternostro’s starting point guard and a candidness which will no doubt endear him to fans of the game. Talking to him away from the court you’ll find that he’s an upbeat kind of guy, someone who draws people towards them just through being naturally friendly. But as he talked about his role on the Leicester Riders, he wasn’t joking, he had stopped smiling and was unusually serious.
“Being a captain, I have a couple of ups and downs. I feel like I’m not a rookie any more. I feel like I’m a veteran and it’s the end of the season and I’m gonna (sic) carry the team: not scoring the basketball and making every play, just being the energy guy on the team and leading the team where we need to go because we got all the pieces. From the coaching staff to the players to the fans, we got everything, we just got to put it together every night and go out there and play at the end of the year.”
The interview continued for a few more minutes before the final question was answered and Rundles departed with a smile as he headed to the locker room.
From the very first time I spoke to Cameron Rundles and interrupted a golfing session he was enjoying with his father, I’ve never known for him to be anything other than a model professional of a young man. I’m not talking in basketball terms any more because he has more value to the Leicester Riders and to the game of basketball than what he is limited to on the court. He’s an ambassador for not only the team in the community but an ambassador for the job his family have done in raising him.
The Leicester Riders are very fortunate to have a team with so much talent. But the real strength is in the people who make up the roster and as demonstrated through his warmth of character, the team truly does have a role model in Cameron Rundles. One whose impact spreads further than Basketball.
