Blazers' Toumani Camara Credits Specific Coach For Success in NBA

The Portland Trail Blazers have been much more competitive this season than many people would have expected. While Portland isn't likely to make the playoffs, they have still taken another step forward in terms of overall contention.

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The Trail Blazers finished last season with the worst record in the Western Conference and they've already exceeded their win total from a year ago. Portland is looking to finish the year strong and if they can make a late-season push for the playoffs they will take it.

But much of their success this season has come due to the growth of their young players. Forward Toumani Camara in particular has played very well and given this team a nice two-way player on the court.

Camara has looked like one of the better young defenders in the NBA this season and he has received all sorts of praise. Other players have taken note of his play and it has been great to see his continued development throughout the year.

But Camara has credited his success in the NBA to a specific coach. The forward talked about his college coach during his time at Dayton, making sure he understood that defense is what was needed to find success in the NBA.

Camara spoke during media availability at All-Star weekend.

"At Dayton, my coach really told me how good I could be defensively and showed me a lot of edits and NBA players who I can be like and stuff like that, and [he was] already trying to picture how I can have an impact on the league. [I think defense] was my ticket into the NBA."

For the season, the forward has averaged 10.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. His versatility has given Portland another level on both ends of the floor and the team is lucky to have him moving forward.

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