When new players come into the UConn men’s basketball program it can take some time to adjust to Dan Hurley’s championship-level standard. But Cam Spencer, who decided to join the Huskies for his fifth year of college hoops, holds himself to one that may be even higher.
On First Night, meant to be a fun, low-stakes way to introduce students and fans to the team and get them excited for the upcoming season, Spencer showed what he’s all about.
A sharpshooter averaging over 40% from 3 over his career, Spencer made 9 of 12 shots in the first round of the 3-point contest for the blue team and advanced to the final, partnered with the women’s team’s Caroline Ducharme. There he met the reigning contest champs, Alex Karaban and Azzi Fudd – two electric shooters who each love the bright lights. Spencer and Ducharme didn’t have the greatest final round, making 14 of 24 combined, and once he finished, Spencer wasn’t happy.
He walked away frustrated, isolating himself behind the 3-point line to watch his competition, hands on his knees as Karaban and Fudd scorched the nets. They had it won before Karaban even got to his final rack, where he made 3 of 4 in the corner to finish with 18 combined.
When it was announced the white team had won First Night – again, an event strictly for entertainment – Spencer stood behind the celebration, staring straight ahead with his hands on his hips.
“That was crazy,” said Hurley, a relentless competitor himself. “That I thought was a little bit over the top. I tried to comfort him a little bit but he wanted nothing to do with me. He was just staring at the white team outside the huddle, Luke (Murray) has a good picture of it where I’m trying to console him and he’s like waving me off, get away. That guy’s shot.”
“I was not happy because we ended up losing, I felt like I didn’t shoot my best,” Spencer said at Big East Media Day, almost two weeks later. “Some people might’ve thought that it didn’t matter that much, but every competition-based thing matters. So I’m still not happy about it and I’m open to a rematch any time, but they won fair and square.”
That mentality is what Hurley and staff knew they would be getting when they targeted Spencer in the transfer portal. That, plus his plug-and-play skillset is exactly what the Huskies needed as they built a team capable of making it back to the title game despite losing team leaders in Andre Jackson Jr. and Adama Sanogo, and 3-point shooters Jordan Hawkins and Joey Calcaterra.
His high school coach, Cliff Rees, told The Courant shortly after Spencer committed, “as soon as that whistle blows and he gets on the court, he’s just a freaking killer. He wants to win.”
New UConn guard Cam Spencer was once a recruit from Baltimore nobody wanted
As it turns out, it doesn’t matter what court or what the stakes are, Spencer isn’t happy with anything but his best effort.
Fans got to see him happy, too, after he hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of Wednesday’s Blue-White scrimmage to tie the score. Spencer doesn’t typically celebrate, he may yell into the crowd but that’s about it. When he makes shots like he did Wednesday, leading all scorers with 19 points and five made 3s, his response is business-like. On to the next.
“I want to win every day, every drill, every shot, I want to make them all. It’s definitely a standard that I hold myself to and I always have, just because I want to be the best that I can be,” he said.
It’s what drew him to Hurley, a coach known for his sideline demeanor and relationships with referees long before he was known as a champion.
“I think Cam’s just got to be himself. We’ve got the perfect role for him, we value the way he plays,” Hurley said. “Me and Cam have a very similar emotional makeup and we both love basketball and family above all else, so it’s like we’re wired the same way.”
“Two peas in a pod,” Spencer said.
After three years at Loyola Maryland, Spencer transferred to Rutgers, where he became the team’s leading scorer with 13.2 points, 3.1 assists and two steals per game while shooting 43.6% from beyond the arc. He hit game-winning 3s twice on the road last season, against the unbeaten top-ranked team in the country, Purdue, and later Northwestern.
Spencer’s focus since coming to Storrs has been on the defensive end. He is expected to be plugged into the Huskies’ starting lineup alongside fellow fifth-year player Tristen Newton and freshman Stephon Castle in the backcourt, with his First Night rival Karaban and Donovan Clingan holding down the four and the five.
“There’s definitely adjustments he’s got to make with style of play and how we do things, just everyone plays different so he’s trying to get a grasp on that,” Hurley said. “But he fits right in, he’s our type of guy. He’s a ruthless competitor and maybe a little bit too much of a perfectionist – he’s got to chill with that a little bit – but he fits perfectly for what we need and how we play.”
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