Thursday, October 30, 2008

11 Days of A-Sun Basketball moves to Buies Creek, N.C. for a preview of the new-look Campbell Camels. After 55 years in Carter Gymnasium, the Camels move into the new John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center.

The Camels add eight newcomers to a team that won double-digits games for the third straight year. Those eight join a team led by junior standout Jonathan Rodriguez. He enters the 2008-09 season as the second-highest scorer among juniors with 1,162 points. He trails only Davidson’s Stephen Curry, who has tallied 1,662 points in his first two years.

Last year, Rodriguez finished the season as one of six players to average at least 20 points per game and 10 rebounds per game. Among that group, NBA lottery picks Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Jason Thompson (Rider), Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody (Notre Dame) and National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough (UNC).

Coach Robbie Laing on the Camels

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2007-08 Statistics

SEASON PREVIEW - (Courtesy Campbell Media Relations)

Campbell Basketball moves into the brand, new John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center in 2008-09 and the team that runs out on the floor of Gilbert Craig Gore Arena is nearly brand new as well.

Only five players who appeared in games for the Fighting Camels return for the inaugural campaign in the Pope Center. However, sixth-year head coach Robbie Laing has added eight newcomers to his roster than also includes two red-shirt freshmen.

“The eight new players we’ve brought in have addressed specific needs that desperately needed to be met. I think we’re two-deep at every spot on the floor,” said Laing. “We can play with more energy on the end that really matters the most, the defensive side of the floor, to ultimately transition to the offensive end to get some easy baskets. There will be a great emphasis placed on high-energy minutes and sharing those minutes to set the tone for our system of play.”

A year ago, four Camels – topped by Jonathan Rodriguez at 35 per outing – averaged more than 28 minutes played per game for CU’s team that finished with a 10-20 overall record and 5-11 Atlantic Sun Conference mark. Laing intends on using his bench freely and envisions having 10 players who he considers “starters” rather than just five.

“If we can get our team to believe that each guy in effect is an important contributor, and in fact – maybe not by definition but by level of importance – really is a starter and to understand that it’s not as important who begins the game, but who really influences the game at the end, I think you’ll have something special,” said Laing. “We’ll have to understand that it’s not a battle for playing time, it’s a battle against your opponent to have a chance to win and in you’ve got to have a total ‘buy-in’ mentality from your guys. They’ve got to believe in each other, believe that what we’re doing philosophically is right and at the end, we’ll all benefit. Then it becomes fun.”

Rodriguez, a two-time, first-team Atlantic Sun all-conference performer, returns after leading the A-Sun in scoring (20.9) and ranking second in rebounding (10.1) during his sophomore campaign. Also back from last season’s starting five are forward-center Kyle Vejraska (10.0 points per game) and point guard Junard Hartley (4.7 points, 4.4 assists).

Sophomore Preston Dodson will be counted on for toughness in the paint, but Camel fans will need a game program early on to match the new faces with the numbers.

The eight-man newcomer class is the largest in Laing’s tenure at Campbell and he is excited about the possibilities the mix of high school and transfer players bring to the squad.

“I feel like, collectively, this is the best group of basketball players, student-athletes, citizens that we have put together in my tenure here,” said Laing. “They have a high level of commitment to being successful. Over the past few years, while it’s been awfully trendy to run and score, ultimately, come March, if you have the caliber of team to try and make a run in tournament play, you have to be consistent for three nights defensively and very sound on the offensive end.”

Laing has guided the Camel program to double-digit win totals in each of the last three years while relying on differing styles. In 2006, the squad ranked second in the country in scoring. A year later, Campbell rated 18th in points per game and eighth in steals. Last season, CU played a more half-court tempo game with only eight scholarship players available by the season’s end.

“While the up-tempo is attractive and we always want to utilize it, I don’t want it to be fool’s gold for our team to rely on out-scoring our opponent every night,” said Laing. “There are nights we are going to need to absolutely just stop people if you want to take the next step. There are no seniors on this roster, so we’re going to have this group of kids for two years to instill a philosophy that I think can move us to the upper echelon of our league and have a chance to advance deeply in tournament play.”

Laing and the Camel program moved into a new 109,000-square foot building that includes a full practice gym and all the amenities associated with 21st-century college athletic facilities. He also brought a recruiting class that shared the returning team’s vision and goals.

“We’ve had a tremendous psychological lift, not just from the personnel on our roster, but we now have a home that’s a legitimate Division I venue for practice, for meetings and games, obviously. That lift really helps our day-to-day operation, our mindset about what we are and where we want to go,” said Laing. “Of the class of eight we brought in, each of them walked through the Convocation Center during the construction phase and while you had to be somewhat of a visionary, you could see that the building was going to be done well and it was going to be done right. We took a number of trips with hard hats on and asked the kids who are in this recruiting class to share our vision. For the first time since I’ve been here, we recruited people who had multiple choices and were able to beat universities with our facility consideration, not just with style of play, academics, or family-atmosphere.”

The eight-man group of newcomers has added athleticism, depth and ability to the Fighting Camel roster.

“I think we had fairly proficient shooters in the past, but we were missing that triple-threat of dribble-pass-shoot explosiveness that I think you’ve got to have in college basketball to score on one end and stop people from scoring on the other end,” said Laing. “I think we’ve addressed those needs. We had some cornerstones in (Jonathan) Rodriguez, (Kyle) Vejraska, (Junard) Hartley and (Preston) Dodson, but we were looking for some more “umph” at both ends of the court.”

FRONTCOURT

Discussion of the 08-09 squad certainly begins with 6-foot-5 junior Jonathan Rodriguez. The native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, who won a 2006 state championship at Calusa Prep in Miami, Fla., has been an impact player since he first stepped on the floor wearing the Orange and Black.

Rodriguez ranks second – behind only Stephen Curry of 2008 Elite Eight participant Davidson – among all NCAA Division I juniors in career points scored (1162). His career scoring (19.0) and rebounding (9.4) averages are the highest for any Camel since the school joined the NCAA Division I ranks in 1977-78.

His accolades have included consecutive first-team all-conference recognition, plus various mid-major All-America honors. For obvious reasons, Coach Laing wants to continue to involve Rodriguez highly in the attack.

“Jonathan’s a point-forward,” said Laing. “Some of our most effective offense is what Jonathan initiates off the break. We like Jonathan to have the ball in his hands. He’s got great court vision. His conditioning level is higher than it’s ever been. His feet have improved. He’s getting his tail down on the defensive end.”

Laing expects to see even better things from a player who is a career 48 percent shooter from the floor and has connected on 74 percent of his free throws while getting to the foul line more than any other player in the league over the past two years.

“While Jonathan’s notably a very good player in this league, he’s accepted criticism and identified deficiencies, and tried to improve his game in the off-season,” said Laing. “I think he took a different approach between his sophomore and junior years than he did between his freshman and sophomore year. He feels better than he ever has. We’ll try to make sure that ball goes through him.”

Joining Rodriguez in the front court is Vejraska, a slender big man, who has the ability to maneuver on the perimeter. The junior from Alachua, Fla., is an offensive threat, who ranked eighth among league field goal percentage leaders (.508) last season while chipping in 10 points per game.

In addition, Vejraska is a career 75 percent shooter from the line and has connected on half of his career field goals as well. On the opposite end of the floor, the 6-foot-8 post has blocked 51 shots in 61 career games.

“Kyle improved his body and his conditioning level over the off-season,” said Laing. “He’s always been a great dribble-pass-shoot guy, and he’s one of those rare post players that make other guys better because he knows what their job is and where they’re supposed to be on the floor. He’s the consummate team guy, has a point guard’s mentality in a forward-center body. He’s valuable in a lot of areas that don’t necessarily show up statistically.”

Dodson, a 6-foot-5 banger from South Mills, N.C., enrolled at Campbell as a walk-on a year ago, but was awarded a basketball scholarship after he played in all 30 games with five starts as a freshman. He averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in his first collegiate campaign.

“Preston totally reshaped his body, which wasn’t bad,” said Laing. “Like most freshmen, he got an education last year. He figured out that he’s had to make a lifestyle change to be on the court and have a chance to help us win a ball game. His rebounding tenacity, intensity level and physical play really help on those nights when it gets a little tough inside.”

Campbell’s “wild card” in the paint is junior transfer Matt Gwynne, a 6-foot-10, 250-pounder who joined the program after spending the last two years at UT-Chattanooga. The native of nearby Angier, N.C., averaged 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 58 games for the Mocs. Last year, he chipped in 5.9 points and 4.3 boards, while shooting 70 percent from the stripe and connecting on 14-of-41 (.341) from 3-point territory.

CU has filed an appeal with the NCAA to waive mandatory year that a Division I transfer must sit out. If that ruling comes back in Campbell’s favor, it would change the complexion of a unit that has not had a muscular presence in the paint in more than a decade.

“If Matt Gwynne becomes eligible, we’re awfully foolish if we don’t go through he and Jonathan down in the post,” said Laing. “You don’t want to send those guys down the court to watch 30 three balls go up a night, from a line that’s a foot longer this year.”

Nowhere is Campbell’s depth more apparent than on the wings, where Laing has a junior college transfers competing with a freshmen at both the small forward and shooting guard spots. Throughout that deep lineup, jobs will be won not only with offensive performance, but through defensive effort, according to the coach.

“Ball pressure has to be a paramount ingredient to our entire season’s success,” said Laing. “We will instill emphatically ball pressure to disrupt timing, create turnovers and create any kind of chaos possible on the defensive end. We’re going to put extreme pressure on the ball, really close the paint down and make people beat us over the top.”

Because of his athleticism and tenacity, 6-foot-4 junior Miles Taylor of Pensacola, Fla., could play on the wing on in the post.

“Miles Taylor, his motor’s always running,” said Laing of the left-hander from Pensacola Junior College. “I’m not sure what he is; a small forward, a back-up guy inside. But he’s a rebounder, runner, defender and high, high-energy guy. He was at the front of all our conditioning the entire fall and had a positive influence on the rest of the team as far as effort goes in all categories.”

Six-foot-six junior William Kossangue joined the Camels out of Tyler (Texas) Junior College, where he was one of five players to sign Division I scholarships last spring. He and freshman Chris Reynolds of Augusta, Ga., provide energy and athleticism on the perimeter.

“William Kossangue can shoot the ball in the basket with great range,” said Laing. “He’s got some great dribble moves because his first step is so effective. He just really explodes. He’s very rangy, rebounds out of his area, and I think he’s going to be a very effective defender, whether it’s interior or on the perimeter.”

Kossangue averaged 7.6 points and 5.2 rebounds, while shooting 52 percent from the floor and 37 percent from 3-point distance last year for the Apaches, who were ranked 10th in the final NJCAA national poll. Reynolds led Glenn Hills High School to a state title and 29-2 record as a senior, while averaging 15.8 points and 8.5 boards.

“Like William, Chris Reynolds is long and has great feet,” said Laing. “Chris has a high ceiling, a huge upside, is very bouncy, runs like the wind, and he enjoys guarding. You have Miles, William and Chris, three perimeter forwards who have good feet and long arms, and hopefully we’ll cut the floor down on the defensive end.”

BACKCOURT

At the two-guard position, a pair of transfers – sophomore Jabril Bailey and junior Chad Thompson – figure to share playing time initially.

With our “two” position, we want a guy who has a scoring mentality and can stretch a defense, and yet at the same time on the defensive end can spread out and help on defense. As a two guard, they need to have a want and desire to put the ball in the basket,” said Laing. “In years past, I think we’ve played too many kids too many minutes; and just bleeding them until they were exhausted at the end of ballgames and at the end of the season. This year, we’re going to try to manage our personnel more effectively, play more energy minutes and increase the effectiveness of some of our players by reducing their minutes.”

Bailey averaged 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists in his only year at Cecil (Md.) Community College, which was ranked number-one in the final NJCAA Division II regular season poll. The 6-foot-4 New Castle, Del., product averaged 19 points per game and won all-state honors as a senior at Delcastle Technical High School in 2007.

“In Jabril Bailey, we have a unique situation that we have a player with legitimate 6-4 height, but he probably plays a little bit bigger, who is a great catch-and-shoot guy,” said Laing. “In pre-season workouts, he deflected and blocked more passes from that spot than any guy I’ve had in any program I’ve worked with.”

A 6-foot-3, 200-pound product of St. Louis, Mo., Thompson scored 18.3 points per game and shot 40 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw stripe last season at Moberly (Mo.) Area Community College.

When Chad Thompson shoots the ball, you feel like it’s going in,” said Laing. “While he’s not as tall as Jabril, he’s a little beefier. He’s a thick kid that bodies up and kind of wedges his way past you with the ball instead of out-quicking you. If you give him the room, he’s going to stick it in the basket from the perimeter. Both Chad’s and Jabril’s challenge is to improve defensively so that they’re not the ones exposed in team defense.”

At the point, Campbell returns Hartley, who led all A-Sun freshmen in assists average (4.4), assist-turnover ratio (1.65) and minutes played (28.5). He ranked third overall in assists and 10th in steals (1.57) per game, while starting each of CU’s final 24 contests of 2007-08.

“The key for Junard staying on the floor and us to have success is to make sure you’re guarding the ball,” said Laing. “That’s most important because if you’re going to be successful defensively as a team, you have to stop the ball and the point guard has it more than anybody else. Junard’s got to be opportunistic when scoring chances are presented. He showed signs at the end of last year of becoming a better shooter and scorer for us. I’m not going to ask him to score a lot, but we want him to be effective when that opportunity arises.”

Hartley will compete with freshmen Amir Celestin and Lorne Merthie, who were AAU teammates in Florida, and red-shirt freshman Cole Dewey for minutes at the point. Celestin and Merthie also could see action at the two-guard position.

Celestin was first-team all-state performer and named MVP of the Florida 6-A state championship game for Miami Norland High School. The 6-foot-2 left-hander averaged 10.6 points and hit 47 percent from 3-point range as a senior.

“Amir could be the most athletic kid on our roster,” said Laing. “If he learns how to channel his exuberance and athleticism; in the league he certainly could be a factor in the back court all year long. He has the ability to really turn the ball up and down the court and get underneath a defense with his explosive leg drive.”

Merthie was a second-team all-state performer for Winter Springs High School in Sanford, Fla., where he chipped in 16.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per outing. The 6-foot-1 guard led his team to a state 6-A final four berth.

“Lorne has tremendous moxie,” said Laing. “You look at him and you wonder where all the skills are to make him efficient, but in the end, he’s found a way to score. He just has a great feel for the game. He knows how to get people off balance and up in the air. He can pull up and shoot from a lot of different spots, and is probably the second-best passer on our team behind Rodriguez.”

Dewey will attempt to work his way into the rotation after missing last season due to injury. The 6-foot-3 product of South Johnston High School averaged 16.1 points and 8.2 assists per game as a senior in 2007.

“It’ll be interesting to see how Cole returns from shoulder surgery,” said Laing. “He plays with a tremendous amount of grit. He has really surprised me in pre-season with his resiliency and his effort. He has really, really been a plus as far as daily workouts go. He’s got some brains and is not afraid to work.”

A pair of walk-ons – sophomore Jonathan Perry and red-shirt freshman Jake Capin – lends depth and tenacity to the back court.

“We’ve made a little turn philosophically with what we’re doing in a lot of areas,” said Laing. “So, we have everyone playing in a new system. It’s nice to have those five guys returning because they understand the intensity level necessary to compete at the Division I level and that permeates through the team.”

No one has greater expectations of the 2008-09 Fighting Camels than the head coach.

“As a staff, we’ll try to provide as much stimulating and thought-provoking material as possible to improve our team mentally, said Laing. “Ultimately, they’ll have to decide that it’s important enough to them, to hold each other accountable in all areas. If you reach that point, then I think your program changes. That’s the benchmark. How much does it mean to the guys on the floor.

11 Days of A-Sun Basketball Schedule
Oct. 29 - Belmont
Oct. 30 - Campbell
Oct. 31 - ETSU
Nov.  3 - FGCU
Nov.  4 - Jacksonville
Nov.  5 - Kennesaw State
Nov.  6 - Lipscomb
Nov.  7 - Mercer
Nov. 10 - UNF
Nov. 11 - USC Upstate
Nov. 12 - Stetson