MAN OF HIS WORD
Oliver promised a show when he arrived in Cairns, and boy, has he delivered for the Taipans
HUMAN highlight reel Cameron Oliver has kept his promise to the Far North.
When he first arrived in Cairns all those months ago for his first NBL pre-season, the high-flying 23-year-old declared he would deliver highlight plays all season.
The American big man has kept his promise.
And, then some.
And, he says there is more to come in the run home to the finals: “I will keep doing that.”
The weekly NBL highlights package has become the “Oliver show” at times in 2019-20 and the defensive player of the year candidate says with his dunk against Adelaide last Saturday night, he even surprised himself.
“To be honest, I had no idea what I was trying to do with it,” Oliver said after training on Tuesday when asked if the dunk was harder than usual because it was from a standing start instead of using his full force with a run up.
“I was actually trying to avoid the steal more than anything and I was just in the air long enough to do it.
“Actually, it is pretty tough to do it standing still straight up.”
Oliver, who spent time with the Houston Rockets in 2017, says the standing start 360 does not eclipse his flying alley-oop from teammate Scott Machado late last year against the reigning champions.
“I still like the one we did against Perth, that was pretty dope,” Oliver said.
“It went all the way to SportsCenter back at home, you cannot beat that, which is probably the highest SportsCenter thing I have got in my life.
Oliver is the NBL’s big-time high-flyer this season, just months after Shawn Long was the premier league big man the campaign prior.
The two powerful big men meet this evening in Victoria.
The duo traded a few comments on social media during pre-season, joking about how many dunks they will both get in the 2019-20 season, even suggesting they should place a bet on who gets the most.
“I know I promised to Cairns that I would keep doing a lot of highlights, so I will keep doing that,” Oliver said when asked about the Long bet.
While smiling about his dunks, Oliver was also proud to record his first 30-point game against Adelaide.
Taipans coach Mike Kelly described his American core as “special” just days after they were all short-listed as nominees for the Andrew Gaze Trophy – the NBL’s Most Valuable Player award.
“I have been happy with our whole group, but Cam, Scott and DJ have fit in well, and lead from the front,” Kelly said.
“They have been great, willing and able to make shots and defend. These guys have been special.”