Boys basketball: Riverside-Brookfield’s Cameron Mercer, son of an ex-NBA player, looking to make his own mark

Riverside-Brookfield junior guard Cameron Mercer doesn’t have any name recognition problems.

The Mercer name is widely known throughout the Chicago area and beyond.

His father, Ron, was a star at Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1997 to 2005 for the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and New Jersey Nets.

Now Cameron Mercer is trying to make his own mark on the local basketball scene.

The 6-foot-2 guard made a big leap on the varsity last season, averaging 14 points and four rebounds per game. Mercer was a two-way threat, scoring on all three levels and took 22 charges to help lead the Bulldogs to a 26-5 record.

Mercer said he gained valuable insight last season as a starter on the varsity during the Bulldogs’ solid season, which already has aided him this summer.

”What I learned the most from playing heavy minutes on the varsity last year was discipline, such as picking up fouls early and gambling along with self-control, when things don’t go right because it can effect others on the team,” Mercer said. “I’m becoming more comfortable handling the ball and making the correct rotations on defense and trusting my teammates.”

Riverside-Brookfield coach Mike Reingruber said his program had several positive moments in June, mainly highlighted by their own R-B shootout.

“We had a great summer with our team and saw a lot of growth and development throughout June,” Reingruber said. “I love our guys. I’m really excited for the potential we have for this upcoming season and can’t wait to start practice in November. I love what the month of June brings because you are able to play so many different teams and different styles of play to help prepare you for the season. 

“We like to play the toughest schedule possible to prepare our guys and played traditional powers, such as Young, Homewood Flossmoor, Hillcrest, Evanston, Peoria Manual, Peoria Richwoods, De La Salle, Bolingbrook and many others.  We played against many of the top 2025 players in the state as well.  All told, June really brought us together as a team, and I think gave our guys confidence that they can play with and beat many of the top teams in the state. We have a really deep group that I’m excited about.”

Reingruber said several players stood out during the busy June period, including returning starters Mercer and Danny Loftus.

“Cameron is our leading returning scorer,” Reingruber said. “Cameron had a tremendous summer.  He’s an excellent shooter and defender and really did great improving areas of his game that he needed to improve this offseason. Senior Danny Loftus averaged about nine points as a junior.  He really got better and better as the summer went on and was definitely playing his best basketball at the end of the summer. He has really improved his ability to drive and finish and shoot the three.  He is an outstanding offensive rebounder as well.”

Reingruber said numerous players also made an impact in June who he anticipates to make an impact on the varsity next season, especially following the graduation of 7-foot center Stefan Cicic.

“Vince Dockendorf and Mantas Sleinys are two other players that saw significant minutes as juniors who impressed this summer,” he said. “Vince is a point guard who can really shoot the basketball and Mantas is an athletic wing, who plays with a lot of energy and bounce.  He has the ability to score inside and outside. Brycen Grove is another senior who didn’t play as a junior due to a health issue, but he is fully cleared and had a great summer.  He plays with a ton of energy and is an excellent shooter. Other rising juniors who made big improvements this off-season and showed great flashes and will be competing for playing time this coming season are Colin Cimino and Ben Biksupic, Liam Enright and Walker Burns.”

Loftus also said his experience on the varsity last season gave him confidence this summer.

“On the varsity (level), everyone is bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled,” Loftus said. “It takes a lot more to win games against that type of competition. Coming up from the sophomore team, I learned to stay super focused on the game. On the varsity level, there’s so much going on with the student section and fans, so you have to stay super locked in and talk through it all.”

Mercer said his primary focus this summer is adding a few new wrinkles to his game.

“I plan to work more on my ballhandling, dribble pull-ups and just as a playmaker because I think I can be more pass-first at times when shots don’t fall or go my way,” Mercer said. “I’m extremely excited to show what I can do just by showing how hard I’ve been working and the urge to just get on the court to my four-to-six week ankle injury.”

Loftus said he’s aiming to improve on his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers to open up his game, but he noted the most important aspect is being a leader for his teammates.

“I definitely want to improve on my leadership,” Loftus said. “One of the biggest duties of being a senior is to lead the younger guys and set the standard for how the basketball program runs things. All throughout my career at R-B, the senior classes have been excellent at being examples for what it should be when we get to that age. Now that I’m here, that’s something I’m striving to improve upon and be for my teammates.”