I caught up with former Notre Dame College graduate and former basketball player Cam Carlin. The former Falcon, played at NDC from 2009-2013 and was a sharpshooter. He was a member of the NDC team that made a run to the MEC finals his senior season beating Fairmont State and Wheeling Jesuit. Carlin was a three year letter winner at MidPark High School where he averaged 15 points per game his senior season- and- led Cuyahoga County with 58 3-point field goals made. He was First-Team All-Conference at MidPark and was All-State Honorable mention. Carlin was the MVP of the Disney World Holiday Tournament as well.
Carlin can not remember exactly how old he was when he picked up a basketball but his first memory of basketball was getting a new-in ground hoop in the front yard at his parent's house. This is what he had to say about that:
"Not sure exactly how old I was but I know I was a huge Shaq fan as a kid and had just received his Orlando jersey as a present and immediately put it on. Then the big surprise present was in the front yard-and- it was a new hoop. Was so cool to me that it was able to lower to 6.5 feet so I could shoot on a real hoop when I was young."Carlin said.
As for Carlin's first recollection of organized basketball, the time frame is not certain but it was baseball that was his first love. As was the case with many kids in Cleveland at the time, Carlin was a big fan of Omar Vizquel and wore #13 in his honor. Whatever season it was he was playing as a kid, whether it be football-basketball-or- baseball. His youngest memories of sports are certainly of baseball. Without a doubt baseball was his first love. Thanks to Lebron James, Allen Iverson- and- his dad Carlin became a basketball player. This is what he had to say about that:
"My dad, Allen Iverson, and Lebron James got me into basketball. I always enjoyed baseball but my father was a basketball player growing up and was All-Conference at MidPark as well. I think we both knew I was going to play basketball one day. Allen Iverson was the first player I saw on a highlight film where the thought came thru my mind wow that's pretty cool- I want to try that. Lebron took that to the next level- as he was doing what he was doing as a kid from 40 minutes away and on my favorite basketball team."
Anyone who knows Carlin knows that he went to MidPark High School and is very prideful about that. Carlin said he and his family used to go to all the football and basketball games (his sister Justina was a cheerleader.) He currently resides in Middleburg Heights and is not ready to move away from his hometown just yet. Carlin said that his mom and dad (Dennis and Laura Carlin) are amazing- the best he could ask for. Dennis just retired after 40 years as an electrician. Laura is a supervisor at Middleburg Heights Rec Center. Justina is currently 34- and-Haillee is 22 and just graduated from Kent State in the spring. I have a nephew Dominic who is 17 and a senior at Berea-MidPark on the basketball team. A nephew Gianna who is 12- and- a nephew Luciano who is four.
This is what Cam had to say about his time at MidPark:
"My time at MidPark was definitely enjoyable. In seventh and eighth grade MidPark had two teams that might have lost five total games from 2002-2003. Those guys played a huge part in me wanting to continue on what they were doing when I got there. The easiest part of high school was the time of day looking back at it now that I work regular hours. Being done by 130 or 215 everyday would be amazing to still have. The hardest part of school always for me was waking up in the morning honestly (ha ha.) The real trouble I had academically was the trigonometry but I was able to get thru that. For the most part I had great teachers at MidPark that made it fun for us- and- enjoyable to be there. The easiest part of being an athlete was always attending the practices and workouts. They all might as well have been mandatory. The open gyms to me were like the highlight of the week. The hardest part of being an athlete was my sophomore and junior year when guys were playing over me who shouldn't have- it was very tough. Looking back I can say it helped to make me into who I am. Working that hard helped me to get to NDC and i'm grateful for that unnecessary time."
On how he enjoyed his time at NDC and what drew him to NDC out of high school:
" I enjoyed my time at NDC as well. What drew to me NDC was NDC just felt really good. The opportunity to play at the D2 level and stay in Cleveland while doing it. I wanted to play at the highest level of competition I possibly could. Had some tough times at NDC as well- went thru the same situation I described in high school , in college. Had some of the greatest times when I met people that will be friends for life. Former teammates of mine like Eliot Brown- Brennan Osborn-Or Steiner- Nikola Nicolic- and- Geovante Rose. You can't replace that. I would do anything to experience that again. The easiest part again is the schedule. Some semesters no class on Friday's. Some semesters maybe one class on Tuesday's and Thursday's or a night class once a week. Just being able to kind of work your schedule around your practice and workouts. Also being able to know you have these times off and academic breaks every couple months. Much simpler times being a student (ha ha.) The hardest part was when I wasn't playing as much as a sophomore and junior and knew I deserved to. It was tough to maintain the confidence that I would do what I do when given the chance. I really leaned on my father and he rejuvenated my confidence. I just took it to the next level and truly dedicated myself to outworking the competition because it didn't work out. At least i'll know I did that. Being able to start and play an integral role in my senior year made it worth the wait. Academically the hardest part was the whole process of doing the internship and hours for that- as well as recording journals. It was much more of a process to get the credit for that to graduate than I thought. The biggest thing I learned when I was there was to never doubt who you are. I'm here for a reason and if I don't have the utmost confidence in myself in the world who will?"
Carlin gave this advice to the incoming Freshman who are just beginning at NDC:
" I'm sure this is a cliche answer but first off tell them to enjoy it. The fun started to come to an end when you're done with college so try not to get caught up in going thru the motions- and- enjoy today. Get what you need to get done academically so you can stay at school actually and have the amazing time i've been talking about. Nothing good happens when you are struggling academically. Athletically outwork your competition and understand until the team is figured out and the practices start to get closer to games everyone is competition. Guys might be your friends but you need to be able to turn that friendship off when you get on the court or field and treat them as competition if you want that spot. You need to treat practices and workouts as important as games because the coaches are looking for someone to step us as early as possible."
Cam said that he still follows NDC hoops and attends at least one game per year. He still follows on social media and remembers watching live with his dad the year we beat West Liberty at their place. Many of his former teammates were on that team so Cam was pretty excited about that. Last year was fun watching those guys go as far as they did as well."Carlin stated.
When asked how his teams would fare against the last couple NDC teams and which player on the current team reminded him of himself as a player an excited Carlin had these thoughts:
" Was excited about this one! So this is how I look at it. We had Doomie (Eric Dummermuth) and we relied on him a long time on my teams- a young Dion D'Armond- and- a young Tyree Gaiter as well as scoop (Jarvis Huntley-) in the starting lineup with me-Geo Rose as well. With those guys on the floor I knew we would be able to compete with anyone. Going back to games every year there's nothing I want more than to be able to play in that atmosphere again. If there is one player that reminds me of myself on the team it would be Drew Scarberry, even though he's a bit taller than me. Just going by volume of attempts and makes from three and seeing him the past couple years."
Carlin told me how the best thing about academics at NDC is that it teaches you to prioritize your time and your day. You need to get done with what's most important before you can play sports or have fun. He learned to never doubt himself because he knew what and where he came from. It's up to him what he wants to achieve in life.
Carlin currently resides in Middleburg Heights and works as a salesman for Solution Industries. They are a fastener distributor in Middleburg Heights. He previously worked for the Cavs until 2018 in advanced statistics. He received a championship ring in 2016.
Carlin had this thought about the journey:
" The toughest part was staying the course. Four years goes by quick- but you have responsibilities and many milestones that must be completed within those years. Many people are going to doubt you and you can't take that time with you. I was the only recruit from 2009 to play all four years and graduate from the program. I definitely take pride in that."
Carlin was not the most talented kid in the world but his work ethic was second to none. That is all you can hope for from a college-athlete. Maybe one day soon he will get to come back and knock down one last 3-pointer and the crowd will erupt. At least that seems to be his wish!
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