Auburn, ME - Teammates Cam Pollock and Kenray Emadamerho go further back than their time as Mustangs at CM. Both grew up playing basketball together in the city of Manchester, NH and attended Manchester Memorial High School. Neither of them would've dreamed that they would continue playing basketball together in college. Emadamerho states, "It's kind of surreal to be playing together in college. I never thought we would still have the opportunity to play together."
When Pollock came for a visit, it didn't just feel like any other basketball team. "The basketball team felt like a family. That was what really convinced me," added Pollock. His high school teammate, Kenray, was also on the same visit and had the same impression. Their first taste of the historic home game environment came when the Mustangs hosted conference rival NHTI. With the light show and in front of a packed house, the Mustangs were able to beat the Lynx 89-85. The experience in that environment would be key as the Mustangs would travel down to SM to end the semester. With the Mustangs still having to host the Seawolves of SM to end the regular season schedule, Pollock and Emadamerho can expect a much louder and intense environment that night.
Adjusting to a being a student-athlete in college can be difficult. Pollock states, "my biggest challenge has been keeping up with the work outside of the classroom and making sure it gets done to keep my grades up." This may be a challenge for him, but it is something he has tackled successfully as he is a terrific student. For Emadamerho his biggest challenge so far, is finding the perfect balance between school work and basketball. "The schedule of being a student-athlete requires being disciplined enough to take care of my studies when I have down time which has been the biggest adjustment for me so far. Sometimes it just takes scheduling when I do homework during my day so that it gets done as I don't have much free time during the season," stressed Emadamerho.
On the court, Pollock is a tenacious defender who is typically locked in against the other teams best player on the perimeter. Offensively, he is quick to the rim and has the ability to consistently make shots from beyond the arc. When the Mustangs are hitting from outside, it creates space and opportunity for forwards such as DeMarco McKissic to get to work in the paint. Emadamerho provides tons of energy for the team coming off the bench. With the fast pace and pressing defense head coach Dave Gonyea has his team playing, you need guys like him to enter the game and create havoc on the defensive end of the ball.
The Mustangs return from the break to open against YSCC conference opponents in Vermont Tech, Paul Smith's College and Great Bay. Three critical match ups to get the Mustangs back into the win column after dropping their last game of the Fall Semester to rival SM. Gonyea will look to high school teammates, Kenray Emadamerho and Cam Pollock to provide the boost the team needs to start the second half of the season.
