Long Island Lightning Dingle was already up the stairs and headed toward the doors of American University’s Bender Arena. The team’s last game just finished Sunday at the USJN/Nike National Championships and they were ready to head back to New York.
Everyone except for Batouly Camara.
Lightning Dingle’s 6-foot-1, 14-year-old prodigy stayed behind. She wandered two courts over, sat down and started a conversation with two American women’s basketball players who were working the event.
Camara did most of the talking. She asked them why they chose the Washington, D.C., school. She asked them about the style their team plays. She asked them what the coaching staff was like.
The introspective Camara has never met a question she didn’t like.
“She’s eager to find out what she’s doing wrong, what she needs to do right,” Lightning Dingle coach Jaywana Bradley said. “She’s always asking me, ‘What am I doing wrong? What’s going on?’”
There is very little going wrong with Camara’s development at this point. The menacing presence in the middle is one of the best young players in New York City, a high Division I prospect who has already earned interest from a number of programs from across the country.
After a freshman season at Graphic Communication Arts, Camara will transfer to Blair (N.J.) Academy, a dual decision between basketball and lifestyle. Her mother is constantly traveling and prefers her to be at a boarding school.
It’s all happening very quickly for Camara. This is her first summer traveling regularly and she didn’t see top-notch competition at Graphics, a PSAL Class A program. More than that, the strong, skilled post only started playing basketball at the age of 11 and competed exclusively with boys up until less than two years ago.
“Until I was 13 I didn’t know they had girls basketball, truthfully,” Camara said.
She called this summer traveling with Lightning Dingle an “amazing” experience. Camara, a Manhattan native, enjoys the camaraderie of the team and, although she is the youngest player on the roster, the other players look to her.
“She’s a leader at heart and very mature for her age,” teammate Yen Pham said.
When asked why she liked basketball, Camara was prudent. She didn’t mention the competition or the physicality. Instead, she lauded the future prospects and how a team can build a person’s character.
“I like that it has its benefits,” she said. “You can go to college for free. I feel like you can become a different person playing basketball also.”
Camara has been an eager student for Bradley, the Manhattan Center coach. She is not satisfied with just playing in the post. Camara has started working on her perimeter game, her ball handling and her shooting. Already she can step out and hit the 12-foot jumper.
“She’s looking to become a serious, complete player,” Bradley said. “She’s looking to go outside. She learns very fast. She’s one of those kids, they want to get better even when they’re doing good. She has a lot of talent. … The sky is the limit for her the next couple years.”
The two American players were stunned when told later that Camara is just 14 years old. Her inquisitiveness about the college process has made her grasp recruiting more than most high-school students. Uncanny self awareness is just one of the attributes that sets her apart.
“Right now, I understand you’re only on the mailing list,” Camara said when asked what she thinks Division I schools already being interested in her.
“I know I need to get better,” she added. “If they like me now, they’ll like me more in three years.”