Camillo Weinz Shooting His Way Into The Emory & Henry Record Books

EMORY, Va. – With fearless perimeter shooting and constant hustle, Camillo Weinz has authored his own chapter in the Emory & Henry men’s basketball record book.
That’s only part of this success story, however.

For the first 16 years of his life, Weinz lived in Berlin with his family.

The regimented basketball scene in Germany’s capital city hardly compares to the free-flowing game in the United States, yet Weinz adjusted after his family moved to Radford, Va.

“Basketball in Germany is a little more about the team aspect,” Weinz said. “There are good players all over, though.”

Weinz concentrated on soccer until age 13 in Germany, then joined a club basketball team.

He helped to guide Radford High School to two berths in the Virginia High School League Group A state basketball tournament, and has gradually emerged as one of the best players in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Entering his senior season at E&H, the 6-foot-1 senior already holds conference records for three-pointers made in a game (11) and season with 105. Weinz has 243 career 3-pointers, just 51 away from the ODAC mark.

The fast-paced offense at E&H, dubbed the ``Fun-N-Gun,” has helped Weinz develop his shooting skills.

“I wasn’t really a shooter at Radford,” Weinz said. “We had scorers like Darrius Nichols (West Virginia), so I did a little bit of everything.”

Weinz never stopped working on his jumper, however.

“I’ve tried to shoot around 300 shots every day since age 14,” Weinz said. “My dad got me started on that routine, and I’ve just kept at it.”

While second-year coach Paul Russo has been placing more emphasis on defense in the preseason, the Wasps will continue to run.

E&H led all NCAA Division III schools last season in assists per game (20.5), while ranking second in points (105.8) and 3-pointers (14.6) per game.

“Our goal is to be hardest-working team in America,” Weinz said. “We had success on offense last season, but we gave up too many easy baskets.”

Russo hopes to remedy that problem with a back-to-basics approach.

“We will continue to be an aggressive team that defends all over the floor, but our pressing will not be an extreme as it once was,” Russo said. 

Experience is a plus, as seven seniors and all five starters return. The regular lineup figures to include Weinz along with junior point guard J.D. Dyson,  senior Jarell Christian, 6-4 senior Josh Lee and powerful senior post Kyle Huckins. 

“We’ve got a bunch of kids that have played in a lot of games,” Russo said. “We could be pretty good if we commit to defense and rebounding. The offense will come.”

Weinz knows offense. He led the Wasps in scoring last season despite playing with a mask designed to protect his broken nose.

“I wore a generic mask at first and it was hard to see,” said Weinz, who suffered the injury in the preseason. “I ended up getting a mask molded to fit my face, and it definitely helped with my vision.”

Mask or not, the E&H coach feel confident with the ball in the hands of Weinz.

“Camillo is one of the best guards that I’ve ever been around, and I played with guys like (Division III All-American) Justin Call,” Russo said.

The NCAA has pushed the 3-point line back to 20-feet, nine inches this season for the men’s game. Weinz still managed to score 24 points in the first inter-squad scrimmage at E&H.

“The new line hasn’t affected Camillo at all,” Russo said. “Camillo is not one of those shooters that has to catch the ball in rhythm to get his shot off. His legs are so strong that he can elevate and can get the ball up over people. That makes him really tough to guard.”

While his path to stardom has been a bit unique, Weinz has found his niche in Southwest Virginia.

The Weinz family once lived just five minutes from the infamous Berlin wall, which separated East Germany from West Germany for 28 years until it was dismantled beginning in late 1989. Weinz said his family actually has a piece of the wall at their current home in Lousiana.

“I had always wanted to come to the United States to play high school and college ball, then my dad found a job at an industrial park in the Radford area,” said Weinz, who also starred in football at Radford.

“I remember riding through downtown Radford and thinking how small it was once we first arrived. I love it now.”

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