Cameron Christie continues family legacy on hardwood in Rolling Meadows
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (CBS) – The Rolling Meadows boy's basketball team is having another very good season and it's another member of the Christie family helping to lead the Mustangs' charge.
CBS 2's Matt Zahn caught up with senior guard Cameron Christie who's following his older brother's footsteps while making his own mark along the way.
Christie is enjoying the ride in his senior season at Rolling Meadows High School.
"Yes, it's been a ton of fun," he said. "Halfway through it, I've really enjoyed every single moment of it. I'm looking forward to the second half as well."
That will likely include many more highlight-making plays from the Minnesota commit, who's one of the top players in the state.
"He's just really good," said head coach Kevin Katovich. "He can score at three levels. He can shoot from outside. He's got a mid-range game. He can go to the basket."
Senior center Mark Nikolich-Wilson added, "He makes the right play. He makes tough shots. It's a real privilege to have someone that good on our team."
While Christie is the clear star of the team, he certainly doesn't act like it. That was especially true during the recruiting process that he went through without much fanfare.
"Our whole family tells us to be humble," Christie said. "There's no need to post every single offer. There's just no need to do that. Just keep it to yourself."
Humility isn't the only thing Cameron got from his family. The basketball genes are pretty good as well.
His brother Max was a star at Rolling Meadows before going to Michigan State and then getting drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers this year.
And both of his parents played college basketball, his dad at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, and his mom at Northwestern.
"It was very helpful to have parents who have gone through the whole process before," Christie said. "They were able to teach us a lot of things, especially my dad. He was the one who always taught us how to shoot, always did all those workouts with us when we were younger."
Is it nice to have those genes too?
"Yes, it's been very helpful to have a tall mom," he said.
Christie said he's learned a lot from his older brother Max as well.
"To always have the confidence in yourself," he said. "He went through that little wall in Michigan State. He learned from that. He learned how to battle through adversity. I've been trying to implement that myself, always stay confident no matter what's going on."
Max has even gotten a couple of starts with the Lakers as a rookie second round draft pick.
"It's a lot of fun to be able to turn on national TV and see him out there with the Lakers, playing with LeBron (James and Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook) and all those superstars," Christie said. "With a few injuries, he was able to take the opportunity and make the most of it."
Having the Christie brothers do a lot of good stuff at Rolling Meadows has made this a pretty fun stretch of coaching for Katovich.
"It's been something that, unless you're going through it, you don't appreciate how special it is to have two generational players, and they got to play together for two years as well," Katovich said. "Max is in the NBA. I think Cameron is headed to the NBA too. They've done more for our school than we've done for them."
But, are there any more Christies coming through Rolling Meadows?
"Unfortunately not," Katovich said. "I've talked to (parents) Max (Sr.) and Katrina to see if there's someone they've surprising me with later, but no, this is the last."
As Christie said, all that's left is to enjoy the rest of the ride.
Katovich said Christie's shot may even come a little easier than his older brother's, but both of them work so hard to overcome any inconsistencies in their game.
