Last Saturday Norfolk State beat Howard 56-52 in the MEAC tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Spartans won 5 games in 2021 and 17 games in 2022 but are 25-6 this year and clinched the school’s 1st NCAA tourney bid since 2002. Yesterday HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Norfolk State SR G Camille Downs about being a great defender.
You were born in Japan: how did you 1st get into basketball? My parents were in the military and I played a bunch of different sports over there including soccer/track.
You began your career at Coppin State/UNCW: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Norfolk State? I tore my Achilles as a freshman so I wanted a fresh start. UNCW was not a great fit for me and I wanted to be closer to home so that my parents could attend more of my games. I am glad I did so…because I am a champion!
You are majoring in cyberpsychology: what on earth is that?! It is the study of human interaction with technology. I recently wrote a paper on how things like online dating/gaming affect people’s mental state.
Last year you were #4 in the nation with 3.3 SPG and this year you are #6 in the nation with 3.4 SPG: what is the key to being a great defender? Just timing everything right and keeping my opponent in front of me. I just think to myself, “You are not getting past me”.
Last year against South Carolina State you had 15 PTS/12 REB/9 STL: where does that rank among the best all-around games of your career? That actually was not the best game of my career. When I played in the regional tourney at Butler Community College I averaged a triple-double!
In the 2022 MEAC tourney semifinals you scored 14 PTS including a turnaround jumper at the buzzer in a 2-PT win over Morgan State: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? I will never forget that. My coach said that the game was going to end in a rebound so I just made sure that I was ready.
In the 2022 WNIT you scored 10 PTS in a 7-PT loss at Drexel: what did you learn from that loss that you think will help you this time around? Drexel was a very good/disciplined team. We worked hard but now we will be even more locked in/focused so that we can get the outcome that we want.
Last Saturday in the MEAC tourney title game you scored 6 PTS in a 4-PT win over Howard to clinch the school’s 1st tourney title since 2002 and tie the record for most wins in a season in school history: how big a deal was it, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was a very big deal just to be able to make history with my teammates. Last year we got a share of the regular season title but that was not good enough for us. My emotions are everywhere: I have re-watched the title game 3 times already!
You are 1 of 3 grad students on the roster: how much pressure is there on you to be a leader? There is no pressure at all. I have been playing for a long time so I have plenty of confidence: I just play hard and score when I need to.
How do you feel about being a 16 seed, and how do you like your chances against undefeated South Carolina in Columbia? We were hoping to get higher than a 16 but at this point I am just excited for the experience to play the #1 team in the country and see what happens.