Payton Kamin’s winter break wasn’t a break at all. Instead, the Worcester Academy guard took his work to the next level.
For 17 consecutive days, Kamin locked in with his trainer in Florida. A routine day included three or four workouts, with one from about 9 to 11 a.m., a lunch break, then another workout from 1 to 3 p.m., eating again before another workout, and finishing off with a pool session. They mixed in pilates, beach workouts, and of course, basketball sessions. Kamin made certain to get proper sleep before getting up and doing it all again.
Seventeen consecutive days.
“He’s an animal,” Worcester Academy head coach Jamie Sullivan said. “He’s an absolute animal.”
Kamin did these workouts in an effort to stay in shape for the second half of the Hilltoppers’ season. In some ways, he could have been making up for some lost time, too. A 6-foot-7 guard from Chicago, Kamin missed 14 games last season due to a torn labrum. It disrupted a defining period of time in his basketball career, and caused some anxious and stressful moments.
But it’s in the past now. Kamin emerged through that adversity and has returned to form this winter. He’s one of the best uncommitted seniors remaining in New England, one of the region’s best scorers and a critical piece for the Hilltoppers, who are 14-3 and lead NEPSAC Class AA with a 10-1 mark. Through 17 games, Kamin is averaging 20.3 points per game in what’s been a rewarding season so far.
“This is everything to me and I’ve been preparing for this season for a while,” Kamin said. “It just feels so great to be healthy again.”
Kamin initially played through his labrum injury last season, but was never fully healthy and faced a difficult decision entering last spring: Play the AAU season with the Illinois Wolves, or skip the summer to get surgery to ensure he was fully healthy for his final season in Worcester.
The decision gnawed on Kamin, with his basketball future in the balance.
“It was super difficult,” he acknowledged. “I didn’t really know what to do.”
Kamin, who said that he received high-major interest from schools like Kentucky, Kansas and Iowa when he was a sophomore, knew that surgery would significantly impact his recruitment in a pivotal summer. But ultimately, the long-term benefits of immediately having surgery won out.
“I want to play basketball for a long time,” Kamin said. “I just wanted to stop worrying about it, get it fixed, get it over with.”
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Kamin returned from surgery in three-and-a-half months, beating his doctor’s initial timeline of 4-6 months as he worked hard to come back for the AAU season. He missed the vast majority of the summer, played a little bit in August, but shifted focus to having a fully healthy winter. Fall open gyms went smoothly, and he carried that momentum to the prep season.
Kamin has proven to be one of the most consistent and efficient three-level scorers in NEPSAC this winter. He’s shooting 48.7 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from 3-point range, and he plays with a noticeable maturity in how he lets the game come to him and doesn’t force anything. He has a confident outside stroke, has a strong feel for attacking when there are opportunities and has an innate ability to draw fouls on defenders.
“(He’s) probably the most underrated player in New England right now,” Sullivan said after Worcester Academy’s win over Lawrence Academy in December.
Kamin erupted for a career-high 37 points in a Dec. 21 win over Mount St. Charles. He was terrific in Worcester Academy’s signature win over Blair Academy at the Hoophall Prep Classic, going for 27 points, including the game-sealing free throws in the final seconds. He’s a tough and emerging rebounder, too, coming down with 5.8 boards per game. A difficult matchup at 6-foot-7 with guard skills, Kamin does a little bit of everything.
“He makes every free throw, he has clutchness in him, he can score in every which way,” Sullivan said. “We’re teaching him to play with his back to the basket, so he can play 3 and 4 or if a 2 switches, he can take him inside with his 6-7 frame, 220. He’s absorbing and responding to coaching.”
Kamin simply impacts winning, and that’s showing in the game book and the standings. Alongside star point guard Amir Jenkins, the Hilltoppers have high aspirations to win a competitive NEPSAC Class AA in March. Individually, Kamin is still undecided on his college future as he looks for his best fit. His recruitment is picking up again, which has him excited.
“It’s really coming along,” Kamin said. “Now that I’m healthy, I’m talking to a lot of schools. I haven’t made any decisions yet on where I’m going or anything, but still trying to build relationships with people and feel it all out.”
Added Sullivan: “He’s going to make some college coach really happy.”
