Dayton assistant coach Ricardo Greer: Suns a good fit for Camara

The pick was announced by Mark A. Tatum, the NBA’s Deputy Commissioner. He correctly referred to UD as the “University of Dayton” unlike Commissioner Adam Silver, who called it “Dayton University” in 2020 when announcing Obi Toppin’s selection.

Camara, a 6-foot-8 forward from Brussels, Belgium, hugged his mom and brother in the stands when he heard his name. He put on a Suns hat after walking on stage and then posed for photos with Tatum. At that point, anyone watching on TV was confused because the ESPN broadcasters thought Camara was being traded by the Suns to the Washington Wizards. It took a few minutes for Shams Charania, of The Athletic, to clear that up on Twitter.

Later, Camara posed for a photo with Dayton head coach Anthony Grant, associate head coach Ricardo Greer, assistant coach James Kane and guard Kobe Elvis, who all attended the draft in the same arena where their season ended in March with a loss in the Atlantic 10 Conference championship game.

Greer said it was a last-minute decision for the group to fly to New York City to support Camara. They sat with Camara and his family throughout the first round. In the second round, Camara and his family moved to sit with other potential second-round picks.

“Normally, in these days they start figuring out who’s serious about picking you,” Greer said Friday, “so he had an idea. When it was coming down to these teams, he was excited.”

Greer likes the fit of Camara with the Suns. Camara was the only player the Suns drafted. Earlier in the day, news broke of the Suns finalizing a deal to acquire three-time All-Star Bradley Beal, plus Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd, from the Washington Wizards for Chris Paul and Landry Shamet. Beal, a three-time All-Star, joins another three-time All-Star, Devin Booker, and 13-time All-Star Kevin Durant on the roster.

“Bringing in Bradley Beal with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, I don’t know how many shots Toumani is going to get anyway,” Greer said. “Thank God he’s a great defender and can do all the other things to help the team win.”

Camara is the first Dayton player drafted since the Knicks took Toppin with the No. 8 pick in the first round three years ago. Three players who have played for Grant at Dayton have been drafted: Camara; Toppin; and Kostas Antetokounmpo, who was taken by the Dallas Mavericks with the 60th and final pick of the 2018 draft. DaRon Holmes II, who returned for the 2023-24 season after exploring the draft process in the spring, could join that list next year.

“That’s one of the biggest things we look into is not only bringing in the kids but developing them into becoming pros,” Greer said. “I think it shows that coach Grant and the rest of the staff are able to do that at a high level. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what school you go to if you go somewhere where they know what they’re doing and they’re able to translate it to you having your name called at the NBA Draft. That’s the ultimate goal for a lot of these young kids. It feels good. Our hard work and what we’ve been able to do and coach Grant doing a phenomenal job as he’s done for so many years, it just feels amazing to be a part of that.”

Most experts saw Camara as a second-round pick, though few predicted the Suns would draft him.

“He’s agile,” Jay Bilas said on ESPN broadcast. “He’s got good feet. He’s got long arms. He’s a really good rebounder, and he’s a very good defender with that 7-foot wingspan. He can switch out. He can block shots. But his rebounding is really really good.”

Richard Saenz, a sports anchor at Fox 10 in Phoenix, said Camara fits the mold of what first-year Suns head coach Frank Vogel wants.

“Long wing span, rebounder & defender,” Saenz wrote on Twitter. “A team captain type guy never hurts either.”

A popular Suns Twitter account, “Suns are Better,” wrote, “It says a lot that the Suns sought out to keep this (No. 52) pick after trading essentially every other draft asset they have available. They see something in Toumani Camara, and I’m sure they envision him being a contributor as soon as next season. Let’s hope it works out that way.”

Sam Vecenie, of The Athletic, ranked Camara 67th among draft prospects before the draft. In a breakdown of all 58 picks after the draft, he wrote, “It’s easy to sell yourself on a 6-foot-7 player without shoes who has a 7-foot wingspan and plays solid, switchable defense. In the NBA today, there might be no easier player type to sell yourself on. Camara is certainly worth a two-way flier, given his frame, defense and potential to shoot it. But I can’t quite get to guarantee level given that he is still a bit limited off the bounce, a bit limited as a passer and a questionable shooter. If the Suns were invest in a draft prospect who could help them sooner rather than later if the shot comes through, Camara was a good one to take a flier on.

In the same story, John Hollinger, of The Athletic, wrote, “I really like this pick for Phoenix. Camara has stretch 4 potential with plus switchability, and is still evolving into the player he can be long-term after coming over from Belgium as an undersized 5 four years ago. He can also help the Suns’ tax situation if he stays in their 14th roster spot on a minimum deal, so he might be one of the few guys in the final 15 picks who doesn’t end up on a 2-way.”

Camara was the only player from the A-10 Conference drafted and one of three from an Ohio college, following Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh (No. 28 overall to the Utah Jazz) and Xavier’s Colby Jones (No. 34 to the Boston Celtics but traded to the Sacramento Kings).

Camara will try to make the roster of a team that finished 45-37 last season. The Suns fired Monty Williams after four seasons. Vogel previously coached the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers.

NBC Sports gave the Suns a B+ draft grade for taking Camara.

“The Belgian forward is an exceptional defender and quality scorer who can impact the game in many ways,” the NBC Sports staff wrote. “In case you hadn’t heard, Phoenix is looking for depth, and Camara is a good candidate to provide some. The Suns got value out of their only selection in the draft.”