Tuesday’s trade of Marcus Camby to the Trail Blazers has reunited him with a man he affectionately calls his “white dad” - Blazers assistant coach Bill Bayno.
“He calls me his ‘white dad’,’’ Bayno said. “And I call him Aurelius,’’ after the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. “I love him. I absolutely love him.’’
Bayno was an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts when he recruited Camby out of Hartford Public High School. Bayno said when he discovered Camby, it was before Camby had become the center of a national-recruiting battle. When it came time to chose schools, Camby remembered Bayno and chose UMass.
“He was a sleeper, and I found him before anybody found him,’’ Bayno said. “Then, the whole country came after him. But he stayed loyal to me. We spent a lot of time working together.’’
Bayno said Camby has a basketball IQ that is “off the charts” and he is a team-first, win-at-all-costs player.
“He’s a winner. His number one focus everyday is winning the game,’’ Bayno said. “He has a high, high IQ, blocks shots, rebounds, passes, makes open jump shots and he just does so much defensively. He covers so many weaknesses. He just effects the game in so many ways.’’
Bayno said he doesn’t think a report of Camby being unhappy about the trade has anything to do with the Blazers or Portland.
“He just doesn’t like change,’’ Bayno said. “He didn’t like it when (he was traded) from Denver to Los Angeles. And I think his daughters and wife really like L.A. But I think he also respects this organization and see the potential here and the impact he can have.’’
