Overview
Toumani Camara was raised in Brussels, Belgium. He picked up basketball at a young age from his brother, eventually tuning into NCAA tournament games and NBA games when possible. While continuing his development, he played in the FIBA U16 European Championship Division B in 2016. His coach helped him find a school in the United States to move to, and Camara attended Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School in Hollywood, Florida. After 30 NCAA Divison I schools recruited him, he opted for Georgia. After two seasons with the Bulldogs, he transferred to Dayton for his 2021-22 junior year. That season, he was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference 3rd Team. Camara had a breakout campaign as a senior, averaging 13.9 points on 55/36/67 shooting, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 30.0 minutes. He was named to the All-Conference 1st Team and conference All-Defense Team.
Analysis
Camara is a well-rounded forward who can mix perimeter skills with athletic moves toward the basket — even breaking out some post moves — and he’s a great defender. Defensively, he’s an excellent shot blocker for his position. Camara projects more as a cutter and transition pusher than a 3-point shooter, as that part of his game was low-volume in college. Dayton wasn’t hesitant to use him in pick-and-roll as a roller, either. He keeps his teammates involved with good passing vision.
Projection
Due to his two-way, versatile skillset as a forward, Camara shares similarities to Aaron Gordon, Paul Millsap and Lamar Odom. If his 3-pointer becomes consistent, Camara could be a plug-and-play bench player for essentially every NBA team as a rookie. With strong defense and unselfish play already givens, there’s a development track for Camara to become a starter down the road.
— Profile by RotoWire