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Recruiting Wrap

DeAndre McCamey 'heading in the right direction'

Posted by: Jeremy Werner

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 8:48 AM

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Recovering from a torn ACL has been a long process for DeAndre McCamey. But a year after suffering the injury, the St. Joseph guard is finally almost at full strength.

McCamey, the younger brother of Illini junior Demetri McCamey, played in limited action with the Illinois Wolves 17-U team this summer.

"In May or June, I'd say he probably looked like 50 percent of what we saw," said Mike Mullins, McCamey's AAU coach. "In July, he probably brought that up to 70 or 75 percent. I'd say he's closer to 85-90 percent now. It's all heading in the right direction. Now, we just have to avoid any setbacks. An injury like that is not only physical but it's psychological. You have to get over it on both ends. You got to learn to trust it again."

This summer, McCamey - a 6-foot-1 point guard - was able to play on the court for the first time in nine months. But the Class of 2010 guard is still shaking off the rust.

"He shows some really positive things that caught people's eyes," Mullins said. "He would snatch a rebound in a crowd, lead a break...now it's just putting those plays together for a longer period of time.

"He had some ups and downs with (playing in July). I think he's very fortunate he's going to play on a terrific high school team with some excellent coaching with (legendary St. Joseph coach Gene) Pignatore. He's getting better every day."

McCamey earned interest from several Division I schools as an underclassman, including Marquette, DePaul and Southern Illinois. Schools from the Missouri Valley Conference, Horizon League and Mid-American Conference continue to show McCamey high interest, Mullins said.

But the guard is likely to wait until the April signing period before making a college decision. He's more concentrated on getting back on the court. And if he can reassert himself, he may just impress some high-major programs, Mullins said.

"He's such a great kid," Mullins said. "He's one of the most mature, intelligent kids that we've ever had in the program. We're all really pulling for him hard to get back to where he was and go beyond that because he has a lot to offer on and off the court to any (college) program."