Inside The Rockets

Rockets' Cam Whitmore Has Work to Do Heading Into Rookie Season

Cam Whitmore has a lot of potential for the Houston Rockets, but he has some things to work on.

Jeremy Brener

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Houston Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore is ready to prove people wrong after his draft day fall.

Whitmore, 19, was projected to be a top-10 pick in the draft, but he fell all the way to No. 20, where the Rockets gladly selected him.

The reasons behind Whitmore's fall will never fully be known, but if he was a better self-creator in college at Villanova, perhaps he would've stuck towards the top of the draft.

"He has a signature step-back three, but he struggled to make off-the-dribble reads inside the arc. Whitmore converted 3-of-16 two-point jumpers last season and had a tendency to force plays into traffic. His 19 assists to 42 turnovers at Villanova reflect tunnel vision," Bleacher Report writes. "An immediate to-do list should include improving his mid-range pull-up, floater (2-of-9) and awareness while creating."

Cam Whitmore
Houston Rockets rookie forward Cam Whitmore / © Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Luckily for Whitmore, he has all the tools to become a successful NBA player, and a good one at that.

Whitmore gave the Rockets a taste of what could be during the Las Vegas Summer League in July. He averaged 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and a stellar 2.5 steals in the Summer League, winning MVP honors. The 19-year-old was the leading factor in the Rockets' run to the Summer League championship.

If Whitmore can bottle some of what he brought in Las Vegas and continues to improve his creation abilities, the Rockets will surely have quite the steal on their roster.

Whitmore and the Rockets are set to begin training camp on Tuesday.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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