Cameron Bairstow

Early years

Cameron Bairstow came into the world in Sunnybank, a Brisbane suburb. He started his education at Runcorn State High School and finished at Anglican Church Grammar School in 2008. His father Ian works as a veterinarian, and his mother Penny is a school teacher; both also coach youth basketball in Australia. The third of seven kids, Bairstow has four brothers—Kieran, Jarred, Daniel, and Sean—and two sisters, Melissa and Stephanie.

Three of his siblings played college basketball: Jarred at the University of Central Oklahoma, and Stephanie and Sean at Utah State University. Before moving to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra for 2009 and 2010, he suited up for the South West Metro Pirates and Brisbane Capitals youth teams.

With the AIS men’s squad, he spent two seasons in the SEABL and was picked for the SEABL Select Team that went to Qatar in 2010. He also helped Queensland win the 2009 Under 20 Australian national championship and was on the Australian Under 19 side that claimed the 2009 FIBA Oceania title in Saipan. ESPN.com rated him a two-star recruit and the 196th-best power forward in the country for 2010.

College career

Bairstow moved to the United States after the 2010 SEABL season to attend the University of New Mexico. As a freshman, he appeared in 31 games, averaging 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game, as the Lobos finished 22–13 and played in the NIT. He was part of a freshman class that included Kendall Williams, Tony Snell and Alex Kirk. In his sophomore season, he played 34 games, averaging 3.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game.

Fellow Australian Hugh Greenwood, a teammate from the AIS, joined the Lobos that year. The team finished 28–7, shared the regular season Mountain West Conference title, won the conference tournament, and appeared in the NCAA tournament. As a junior in 2012–13, Bairstow started in late January after the team began 12–0 and climbed to No. 10 nationally. He played all 35 games, averaging 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game; after becoming a starter his averages rose to 12 points and seven rebounds.

The Lobos won the MWC regular season and tournament titles, and Bairstow was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 13 points and 8.7 rebounds. In the NCAA tournament, the team lost to Harvard, finishing 29–6; Bairstow had 15 points and 9 rebounds in that game.

Professional career

Bairstow entered the NBA as the 49th pick in the 2014 draft, chosen by the Chicago Bulls. He inked a three-year deal with one and a half seasons guaranteed. His first NBA game came on October 29, 2014, against the New York Knicks, where he logged three and a half minutes, committed a turnover, and missed his lone field goal attempt. Over the regular season, he suited up for 18 games, starting once.

That start, on November 25 against the Denver Nuggets, saw him play a season-high 18 minutes and 46 seconds, finishing with two points, two rebounds, one assist, and one block, but also four fouls and two turnovers. He did not see the floor during Chicago’s 12 playoff games. The following season, he again played 18 regular-season games, starting twice, and spent five games on assignment with the Austin Spurs of the NBA Development League. On March 2, 2016, he scored a career-best eight points in 10 minutes as a starter in a loss to the Orlando Magic.

Brisbane Bullets (2016–2019)

In June 2016, the Bulls traded him to the Detroit Pistons for Spencer Dinwiddie, but Detroit waived him a few weeks later. He then joined his hometown Brisbane Bullets of the NBL in July 2016. A shoulder injury from the Rio Olympics forced him to miss the entire preseason and the first two regular-season games. He made his NBL debut on October 16, putting up 15 points, seven rebounds, and three assists off the bench in an overtime loss.

On December 20, scans revealed an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee, suffered during overtime the night before, ending his season. In 13 games, he averaged 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.

After sitting out the entire 2017–18 season, he re-signed with the Bullets on a two-year deal in May 2018. He returned to action in 2018–19, but the team declined his contract option in March 2019. In July 2019, he signed with Lithuanian club Rytas Vilnius.

Youth camps and alumni games

After his NBA rookie season, Bairstow organized a youth camp at The Pit in Albuquerque from 26 to 28 June 2015, with former New Mexico Lobo players as coaches. He also coordinated a Lobo alumni all-star game with Brandon Mason, a former New Mexico State Aggie player and later a Lobo assistant coach. Twenty-one former Lobo players participated, including NBA veterans Danny Granger and Tony Snell, drawing 9,497 fans. The event included a slam-dunk contest, autograph session, and auction of Lobo memorabilia.

Bairstow donated $16,000 from the proceeds to the Lobo Club and Pink Pack, a breast cancer research foundation organized by Hugh Greenwood. The following summer, Bairstow and Mason held a youth camp from 22 to 24 June 2016 at Sandia Prep school in Albuquerque, again with former Lobo players as coaches. The alumni all-star game that year matched a Lobo squad against a former Aggie squad at The Pit, billed as 'The Battle of the Rio Grande.' The Lobo squad won 102–97, and J.R. Giddens was named MVP after scoring 20 points. Bairstow expressed interest in continuing the camps and alumni games if circumstances allow.

Did You Know?

• He measured just under 6-10 at the NBA Draft Combine in May 2014, having been listed at 6-9 as a senior.
• Bairstow's scoring average increased by 10.7 points from his junior to senior season, the third-best jump in New Mexico history.
• He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee in December 2016, ending his first NBL season after 13 games.
• Bairstow earned a degree in Exercise Science and aspires to study physiotherapy after his playing career.