In fact, hoops aren’t the main reason he chose Lenoir. It became obvious to him and his family members it was the right school after discovering it offered an engineering program affiliated with N.C. State University. The small school with much to offer is exactly what Mealy was looking for.

But throw in the fact that he can play basketball at Lenoir, and use his experiences there toward advancing academically, and possibly athletically, at State and the decision was as easy as a lay up.

“Basketball is what kept me up in high school — you can’t play it without the grades,” Mealy said. He noted Lancer coach Bobby Dawson is big on grades and as big on the individual.

Dawson came to senior night at Knightdale to see what Mealy might have to offer the Lenoir squad and ever since he’s been in touch. It might have helped that Dawson’s visit came at the same time the Knights got their first win over Clayton in over two years, and as Mealy dropped a career-high 19 points.

“He’s a real nice guy,” Suzanne Mealy, Cameron’s mother, said of Dawson. “He’s showed he’s interested in him and has been keeping up with Cam on the phone ever since.”

In the couple of times Mealy has visited the campus he’s interviewed with the engineering department and scrimmaged with the basketball team. He said he sized up to the Lancers about like he has anyone else in the past, although his mom said he compares better than he thinks.

Mealy said the current starter in the shooting guard position at Lenoir is solid at what he does, but said it’s up in the air. Dawson might want to gear him up for the point guard position.

“But the bottom line is to get ready for school and ball at the next level,” Mealy said.

Although the future may be up in the air, the past is something Mealy said he will never forget.

Memorable times as a Knight are things he said he will carry with him no matter where the road takes him.

“Teammates will be a big loss,” he said of his Knightdale cohorts that caused chaos in the Greater Neuse River Conference in each of the three years through his senior year. “From sophomore year on it’s been a blast. Our senior class was really close. We will stay close.”

Despite losing a pair of games to Enloe his senior year, he said the battles between the two schools were some of his favorite, even though he played the second of the two senior-year matchups with a broken hand.

“Of course I enjoyed the East Wake game,” he said of the 155-59 mauling of the Warriors at Knightdale High in January.

Mealy said to go out like the team did in the third round of the state playoffs against a team like Enloe wasn’t what he or his companions truly wanted, but the ride was a good one when time as a Knight was precious.

“I enjoyed it all,” he said. “I will never forget my experiences.”