I've been watching Baily Cameron play basketball since she was in the seventh-grade.
That was the 2009-10 basketball season in Siloam Springs -- my first covering Panther athletics on a full-time basis.
As I began to settle into my new role on the Siloam Springs beat, word began to spread about this seventh-grade girls basketball player named Cameron.
As scores and stats began to roll in that year and over the next couple of years while she played in eighth- and ninth-grade, I began to really take notice.
By the time Cameron moved up to varsity as a sophomore (and a brief time as a freshman), we all knew she was going to be a player.
She had her moments that season, averaging double-digit points for a young Lady Panthers team.
As a junior, Cameron really came into her own, leading the then 7A/6A-West Conference in scoring and being named the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Player of the Year.
As a senior, Cameron's numbers dipped some, but she helped lead Siloam Springs to the Class 6A state finals, where they were defeated by Greenwood in the title game.
Earlier in her senior year, Cameron had signed to play basketball at John Brown University, and I remember a conversation I had that day with JBU head women's coach Jeff Soderquist.
Soderquist mentioned that Cameron had the potential to be one of the best to ever wear a JBU uniform, and he specifically compared her game to that of Kendra McCormick Knoner, another former Siloam Springs standout who was the all-time leading scorer in JBU history.
Fast forward more than four years later -- and a lot of basketball games in between -- and everything Soderquist said about Cameron has come to pass.
She was Freshman of the Year in 2015-16 and All-Sooner Athletic Conference each of the last two seasons as a sophomore and junior. She also earned All-America honors.
On Saturday, Cameron became JBU's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Knoner's mark of 1,793 points. She's currently sitting at 1,795 points and counting, and she'll have an opportunity to break a few more records along the way.
It's really been a joy to watch her do this.
Cameron is a great kid who comes from a terrific family that has done so much for our community. As many know, father David Cameron was the city administrator here in Siloam Springs for several years.
It's not easy being the kid of a former public official here in town, but Baily Cameron never seemed to let it affect her on the basketball court. And David Cameron is her biggest fan. He doesn't miss many games.
On Saturday, Jan. 26, at halftime of the men's basketball game against Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas), Cameron will be officially honored by John Brown for breaking the women's basketball scoring record, and I'm told Knoner will be in attendance as well.
It will be a great moment for two great basketball players -- Cameron and Knoner -- raised in Siloam Springs.
I think Knoner probably knew this day would come eventually, and one can only hope that Cameron will pass the torch along several years from now as well.
-- Graham Thomas is the managing editor for the Herald-Leader. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Sports on 01/16/2019