Delphos St. John’s Cam Elwer hit eleven three-point shots in Friday’s 64-44 win over Minster. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
On a weekend where the outside temperature dipped to -3 degrees, Delphos St. John guard Cam Elwer warmed the hearts of area basketball fans with a fabulous 45-point performance against Minster.
We’ll share that Cam Elwer’s 45-point shooting performance against Minster Friday night caught the attention of readers from other parts, including one in particular from Greenville, South Carolina. When you shoot 50% from behind the three-point line you can do that.
And Saturday there were questions trickling in over the specifics of how someone who isn’t 6’8″ tall and a top-five national recruit could do that…without giving the recruitniks a case of the online vapors.
Someone wrote. “Isn’t Minster a pretty good basketball team?”
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Yes…very good. As written, the Wildcats (MAC Conference) would be projected as a top seed come tournament time.
“Were the numbers right in the story? He had eleven three-pointers…right?”
Precisely!
“Wow,” was the most operative word most used on Facebook and X.
A reader from Gallia County added, “If that kid isn’t your ‘Who’s Hot’ guy this week…how hot do you have to be?”
Well, 45 points on 57% shooting will get you ‘Who’s Hot’ honors every time in this day, when many high school games struggle to reach 57% shooting from the free-throw line.
And Cam Elwer is no Johnny-come-lately. As early as his freshman year, when he put up 26 points in a win over Versailles using that same machine gun style of perimeter accuracy, he was giving notice that the typical standard for excellence as a high school scorer – the 1,000 point standard – was nothing more than the pre-game layup line for him.
In fact, 2,000 points is now in the rear view mirror and it’s being projected that he’ll finish at St. John’s with a mark closer to 3,000 points…something in the LeBron James range (2,646 points). And if you’re interested, or yawned through last year’s state tournament, Cornerstone Christian’s Quinn Kwasniak currently holds the Ohio record with 3,342 points – the same guy who made those 35-footers in the Division VII championship game against Russia. Elwer is not likely to surpass Kwasniak, but if he had shot as much as Kwasniak as a freshman, sophomore, and junior he could have.
In fact, it was announced Friday in a post-game recognition moment that through his first 77 games as a high school player Cam Elwer has averaged just a bit over 15 shots per game during that span. That gives you an idea about his efficiency as a shooter – helps certify his Friday stats of 57% from three-point range and 55% from the floor, overall (16 of 29). That’s unofficial, of course, but it’s within a shot or two.
“I know that I’m going to have an opportunity to go there and play. I want them to know (at Furman) that I’m prepared.” – Cam Elwer
“What people don’t know is how hard he works at it,” said Minster coach Mike McClurg following the 45-point barrage that included four made threes in both the first and fourth quarters. “He deserves it. I’ve coached him in AAU and I know first-hand how hard he works at being a good shooter.”
Which includes, if you wonder, having his own set of keys to the gym at Delphos St. John’s.
“I was here at 6 am this morning,” he said Friday. “Me and a half dozen others.”
The more interesting statistic among other Ohio high school scorers would be…how many of them were at the gym at 6 am on Friday morning, twelve hours before the JV game that night?
“What you see is the way he’s been since he was in grade school,” says his father and coach, Aaron Elwer. “He’s always been competitive like that, even against players bigger and older than him.”
And his Friday performance is testament to his preparation for his next bigger challenge – his legitimacy – when he steps on the court for Division I Furman University next fall. Recruited by former Cedarville University coach Pat Estepp (now assistant head coach at Furman), Estepp was all eyes and ears following Friday night’s eye-opener against Minster, responding to social media accounts of the post-game stats.
“I know that I’m going to have an opportunity to go there and play,” said Elwer, Friday. “I want them to know [at Furman] that I’m prepared to contribute immediately.”
And the Furman style of basketball (a member of the Southern Conference, where shooting is a premium requisite) is uniquely suited to his style of play – hit the open shot, and be able to create one when necessary. In a basketball sense, it would seem the stars have aligned for Cam Elwer.
But first, he has a season to play at Delphos, and people to convince if they aren’t already. This is the second time he’s made the ‘Who’s Hot‘ page on Press Pros, and nothing compared to pages yet to come. Interestingly, as a high schooler Steph Curry played at Charlotte Christian High School (North Carolina), averaged 22.8 points per game as a senior, and just over 20 shots per game before going on to college basketball at Davidson College, a school significantly smaller than Furman. Elwer averaged 28 a game as a junior last year, and obviously he’s capable of more.
Funny thing…about those stars and how they align!
Our congratulations to Delphos St. John’s Cam Elwer, for a second time…this week’s ‘Who’s Hot’ honoree on Press Pros.
Peace of mind is as easy as the relationship you have with your local bank, and the St. Henry bank is small enough to know you, and big enough to serve you. The St. Henry Bank joins Press Pros Magazine in recognizing this week’s “Who’s Hot” honoree…Cam Elwer, from Delphos St. John’s High School.