Chris Cenac Jr. USAB Junior Minicamp Interview
Out here with Chris Cenac Jr. at USA Basketball Junior National Minicamp – just wrapped Day 2, where you had quite the showing. You’ve taken a unique path to wearing those three letters. For those unfamiliar with your background, can you walk us through the past few years of your basketball journey?
Chris: For sure. Freshman year was really where it started—Riverside Academy. My coach there, he pushed me. He’d seen a vision in me that nobody had really seen. He pushed me to get better. I ended up transferring to [Isidore] Newman HS my sophomore year and sadly I was ineligible, so that whole year I just took as getting better, staying in the gym, just getting better. When it’s my time to get on the court I’m ready. That summer, I was hooping—getting on the rankings, getting on everybody’s radar a little bit. Going into my junior year at Newman—I had a pretty good year—a pretty good season.
Then my junior year summer, that’s when everything kind of took off—this summer—that’s when everything really took off. I was playing on the Puma circuit, did good on there, went to NBPA Top 100, earned MVP there, made the [USAB] U-17 team. So, this summer was pretty good for me. It was very fun. I learned a lot, got better, and now I’m going into my senior year at Link [Academy]. Looking forward to that. Everyone wants to get better—leading those guys—and just getting better. We want to win the National Championship. That’s the goal.
Everyone sees the end result. They see the guy shooting up the rankings, but maybe they don’t see the work that goes into it. What’s pushed you forward?
Chris: Man, I just want it. I want it real bad. I want to make it to the NBA. I want to make a lot of money playing the game I love. I’m motivated.
Through two days, you’ve shown tremendous versatility on both ends of the floor. Where do you feel like you impact winning most right now?
Chris: I think I impact winning because I can do everything. If a big guy is on me, I’ll just take him out and take him off the dribble, or shoot right over him. If a small guy is on me, I’ll just post him up, and then I can switch off of pick-and-rolls so I can guard many positions. I feel like that’s how I impact winning. Going and getting rebounds—there’s many things I can do that make me different from everyone in my class.
Couple sessions in the books –– what are your impressions on the competition level here in Colorado Springs?
Chris: It’s great. We have the top guys here. I’m learning from them. They’re learning from me. I’m learning from the coaches. Just getting better and learning.
As a student of the game, someone who has developed a lot in the past few years—you probably watch a lot of basketball. Who are some guys, some teams you like to watch, and why?
Chris: Like a mixture of Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant—his mid-range game—or Karl-Anthony Towns—the way he shoots the 3. It’s just a mixture of big guys who can do anything on the court.
From unranked to a consensus 5-star recruit. How have you dealt with increased attention?
Chris: I just let my parents handle a lot of stuff and just stay focused on the main thing, and just get better. I just focus on getting better, two times every year. That’s the main thing on my mind.
That’s a difficult balance. Are there times when that’s a lot to handle?
Chris: For sure. There’s definitely times, but I just stay focused and get better.
Looking forward to the next 12 months, what are the boxes you want to check off?
Chris: National Championship. That’s the main thing on my mind, Link’s mind, my teammates’ minds, my coaches’ minds. We’ve just been practicing everyday, getting each other better, so we can get that goal.