A Solid Opening For Camden

Camden's opening 78-69 boys' basketball win over Bishop Eustace was far from a flawless performance for the winners, but the first impression indicates the Panthers should be a dangerous team in Group 2.

Camden still has to work on its defense. While playing mainly zone, the Panthers allowed too many open jumpshots. When Camden went to man-to-man, Eustace was able to backdoor the Panthers with regularity.

Still, this is a young Camden team that is only going to get better. And what was most impressive is how unselfish Aaron Walton-Moss was.

He scored 20 points, but only took 16 shots and at times it seemed like he could take it to the hoop, only to pass to a teammate.

The 6-foot-2 Walton-Moss is powerful and quick. He needs to work on his handle, but there are few players in South Jersey who can stop him when he gets a head of steam while going to the basket.

Vinny Walls is a streaky shooter and sophomore Hubert Simons scored 18 points in the opener and looks like he can be an inside threat.

Probably a fourth double-figure scorer will have to be developed.

Again, there is a lot of work to do, but what team is polished in December? There will be nights when Walton-Moss will need to score 40 and he will oblige. For now, he's trying to set the trend as the unselfish leader.

And with somebody like Walton-Moss leading the way, Camden should be vastly improved from last year's 14-9 team.

- Marc Narducci