Montana State University Billings Athletics

Career Resume

Cameron Munoz was a 2002-06 member of the men's basketball program and still holds an NCAA Division II national career record as his 451 three-point field goals made over his career has not been touched since.
 
After earning the Pac West Freshman of the Year award during the 2002-03 season, Munoz was named to the All-West Region and All-Heartland Conference first teams during his senior campaign after earning honorable mention and second team honors in the Pac West as a sophomore and junior.
 
Munoz finished his career in the top-10 in six different categories that include his three-point field goals converted. He is also currently second all-time in points scored (1,879), third in three-point field goal percentage (.433), fourth in field goals made (592), fourth in free throw percentage (.841) and tied for seventh all-time in points per game (19.0).

Feature Story: MSUB's Munoz Climbing Charts for 3-Point Shooters (By: Joe Kusek/Billings Gazette, 2/14/2006) - Original Publication
 

Cameron Munoz has always had it. From the time he was a young child, using any wall in the house as his backboard while his mother Jill continually warned him to stop, through junior high, high school and now college.

It came from practicing long hours in the backyard under the watchful eye of his father Wally. It came from solo hours in the gym and it came from the equal amount of time he's spent in the weight room.

Munoz has always had it.

Munoz has always had the intimate touch, the feel, the accuracy, the strength, the unwavering confidence to put the ball in the basket.

"I was always known as the kid who could shoot the basketball," said Munoz, now a senior for the Montana State-Billings men's basketball team.

Shoot the ball he can. Make them, he can.

Munoz will leave MSU-B as the greatest 3-point shooter for a Yellowjacket program that has elevated the skill in the last decade.

The 6-foot-3 guard shattered the MSU-B career-record of 371 set by Markus Hallgrimson earlier in the season and is on pace for the all-time NCAA Division II career record of 443. Munoz enters this week's final homestand of the season with 416 and six games remaining in the regular season.

"I didn't know if anybody would approach Markus' records because they came so fast (three seasons)," said Craig Carse, the MSU-B head coach who recruited Munoz out of Chino, Calif. "Cameron has played four years … he's persevered.

Munoz realized early on he had something special on the basketball court. "I've always had the knack to shoot the basketball," he said. "It might have not always been the prettiest shot, but it worked.

"My dad and I spent a lot of hours in our back yard working on my jump shot. The key is a good back spin and a lot of repetition. If you want to be the best, you've got to work the hardest."

Around junior high, Munoz turned his sole focus on basketball.

"I was playing three sports, baseball, soccer and basketball," he remembered. "And I was getting burned out. My dad thought baseball was a more natural sport for me because I was a left-handed pitcher. But I always loved basketball.

"To me, basketball is not just a game, but a way of life."

Munoz averaged 19 points a game in both his junior and senior seasons in high school, earning all-league honors both years. He received a handful of offers from some smaller Division I schools, but opted for MSU-B after seeing the importance the Yellowjackets placed on shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.

"I talked to coach about developing my game. I didn't want to be known as just a shooter and MSU-B gave that opportunity to me," Munoz said. "We were kind of looking for each other … we were the perfect fit."

"Cameron came in and filled that void of our next 3-point shooter," Carse added. "He was recruited to be our 3-point shooter."

Despite battling homesickness, Munoz averaged 13.4 points a game, made 96 3-pointers and was selected the Freshman of the Year for the Pacific West Conference. The season included a career-high 39 points against Hawaii-Hilo and a career-best 12 3-pointers against Western New Mexico.

But he admits the initial weeks in Montana were difficult.

"I was away from home for the first time, in a different culture," said Munoz. "Then I realized thousands of other athletes are going through the same thing and how many get the opportunity like us?"

Munoz averaged 20.3 points a game as a sophomore, but missed the final seven games of the season because of an ankle injury. He led NCAA Division II in 3-pointers made per game (4.85) but did not have enough games played to qualify in the final national statistics.

Last season, Munoz made 111 3-pointers and averaged 20.4 points a game. He missed two games because of a deep thigh bruise.

Munoz doesn't have a favorite gym. "Of course, you like your own home court," he said. "But it really doesn't matter. They're all 10 feet."

As a senior, Munoz is averaging 23.6 points and a nation-leading 5.6 3-pointers a game. He is fifth in the country for scoring average and has made 112 3-pointers this season.

Munoz is always quick to credit his teammates and the MSU-B system for his offensive success. "My teammates set great screens and get me the ball in the right places," Munoz says with regularity after big games. "And it's the system we run here. It's made for shooters."

As Munoz's numbers increased, so has the attention he received from other teams. He has been pushed, prodded and poked in almost every game. "You always take a beating, you expect it," he said with a shrug..

"You want to be the marked man. That's respect. That's a challenge. For one second there in the game, it's you against him. Who's going to come out on top?"

As he climbs the national charts, the defensive tactics have also become verbal. "They'll say, 'Not tonight,' or 'You're not going to get the record against me,' " said Munoz with a smile. "I don't let that stuff bother me. I use it as motivation.

"If I don't score another basket or make another 3-pointer and we get the W, that's fine with me. Winning, that's the only accolades I need.

"I just want to play the game right. That's the way I was brought up. I want to get everybody involved. If I see a guy with the better shot, I'm going to pass him the ball."

To adjust to the increased attention, Munoz has gotten stronger over the years and added to his repertoire of shots. Not only is he a threat to score outside of the arc, he can take the ball to the basket and score on a variety of lean-ins, drives and pull-up jumpers in traffic.

Munoz also plays point guard when needed within the flow of the game.

"I'm taking care of the ball better," he said of his improvement during the past four seasons. "And it's a matter of learning how to use your body.

"I put a lot of time in on the court and the weight room. It takes a lot of leg strength, especially in the last five minutes of the game, to be a jump shooter. I've put the time in to become the best basketball player I could be."

The additional muscle has helped on the other end of the court. Munoz, according to Carse, is the Yellowjackets' best defender.

"Cameron is our best defensive player," said the head coach. "And it's hard to play great defense when you've got to play offense also.

"Cameron is probably the best all-around player we've ever had during my time here. He can play defense, he's strong, he can pass and he can shoot. He's pretty special."

Munoz admits occasionally thinking about all the statistics he's accumulated.

"They do run through my head now and then," he said. "The main thing is to win as many ballgames as we can. Maybe the numbers I can focus on two, three years down the road."

Of course, the numbers don't always happen. He was 0 of 9 from 3-point range against Minot State earlier this season. It was only the fourth time in his career that he did not make a 3-pointer in a game, now a span of 91 games.

"I'm not going to lie to you," Munoz said. "Nobody likes those types of games.

"I try not to let it happen too much," he finished with another smile.

"He understands shooting mechanics," Carse said. "And when he's off a little, he adjusts."

Munoz has the same reaction on a make or miss: Go back down the court and player even harder defense. In his role, he understands there will be plenty of misses. But in his case, also more makes.

"I know who I am as a basketball player," said Munoz. "I'm the same player and person I was before if I was 0 for 15 or 15 for 15 in a game. The biggest thing, I try to stay consistent."

Munoz will graduate this spring with a degree in communications. He will then play in the NBA Summer Pro League during in Southern California, hoping to take his skills to the next level.

"I'll just go out there and see what happens," Munoz said of his immediate future.

"This is an emotional time right now for me. I'm enjoying it. I tell the younger guys on the team to soak it all in. Going to school and playing basketball, that's easy."