By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

Fresh off of leading East St. John to its first outright district basketball championship this past season, Kelth Cameron is riding a “Wave” of momentum — all the way to the college game.

The senior Wildcats center officially signed with Tulane on Tuesday, where he has received a full athletic scholarship.

“I’m real excited,” said Cameron. “I get to go to a big Division I school and keep playing, which makes me real happy. I’ll get a good education and get to stay close to home.”

A 6’8, 265 lb center, Cameron averaged five blocks a game as a senior as East St. John, while adding 15 points and 12 rebounds a game.

Cameron says he came to the decision to attend Tulane during a visit to the school’s campus in early April.

“I’d been thinking about it for a long time. When I visited, it made my final decision easier,” he said. “They made me feel at home.”

East St. John coach Yussef Jasmine says that Tulane’s getting a quality athlete and person in Cameron.

“As a coach, you want to see all your kids sign. But Kelth’s situation is special,” said Jasmine. “They started out recruiting him hard, then they backed off. Then hard, then they backed off again. But when he realized what he could do when he played with confidence, he took it up another level. He proved that with constant hard work, you’re gonna break through eventually.”

Cameron agreed.

“My confidence grew,” he said. “I didn’t want to let anyone down. I knew I had to play to that level game after game.

Jasmine said that Cameron is joining an underrated basketball program.

“I think the thing people overlook is that Tulane’s had a lot of guys injured the last two seasons,” Jasmine said.

“It was a lot like our situation last year when Kelth went down. When they were healthy, they had some productive stretches.

I think their coach realizes he has guys he can work with and that makes you work even harder as a coach. And when your coach puts everything he has into it, the sky’s the limit for a player. I think it’s a perfect fit for Kelth.”

Cameron says he’s sees great things in the near future.

“I’m looking forward to getting a great education, having a great basketball career, and becoming a better person at Tulane.”