Campbell Fighting Camels
2020-21 record: 17-10, 11-6 in the Big South
Head coach: Kevin McGeehan
Tenure at Campbell: 9th season
Career coaching record: 123-133
Home court: John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center
Starters: G Ricky Clemons, G Jordan Whitfield, G Cedric Henderson Jr., G Austin McCullough, F Joshua Lusane
Bench: G Messiah Thompson, G Gediminas Mokseckas, G PJ Carter, G Dakari Johnson, F Jesus Carralero, C Milos Stajcic
Overview: Just a glance at the roster and you can tell that this is not a big lineup. With an average height of 6-foot-3 from last year, the Fighting Camels are not going to be the biggest threat to the Blue Devils when they square off in the Veteran’s Day Weekend Showcase in the early part of the season. However, nearly their entire lineup from last season’s run to the Big South championship game returns, giving Campbell a very experienced starting five consisting of only juniors and seniors.
Notably, the Camels get another year of Cedric Henderson Jr., who was their top scorer a year ago. With 15.0 points per game, Henderson brings a solid all-around game that earned him All-Big South honors last year. Though his 3-point shooting mark fell from 45.2% to 26.7%, he has the ability to light it up from anywhere on the floor with good efficiency, making the small-ball four a tough guard for opposing bigs. Alongside Henderson is Jordan Whitfield, a 6-foot-1 guard who can also stroke the 3-pointer on a solid clip—he added 14.6 points per contest last season, giving Campbell one of the stronger backcourts in the Big South.
Despite a down shooting year from Henderson, Campbell is coming off a fantastic season that had them fall one win short of a trip to the NCAA tournament. With one of the most efficient scoring offenses in all of Division I from last year returning with another year of experience, head coach Kevin McGeehan could be working with a good team that can rattle off a big win or two as a top team in the conference.
Team ceiling: While Campbell has the chance to compete against Duke in the multi-team event on Nov. 13, the veteran Camels will still be no match for its toughest opponent. In its own conference, however, it is a different story as Campbell can take down the likes of Radford, Gardner-Webb and Winthrop en route to an NCAA tournament berth for the second time ever. Its first: a first-round loss to Mike Krzyzewski and the eventual national champion Blue Devils in 1992.
Team floor: The school from Buies Creek, N.C., faces some adversity early on in the conference schedule and struggles to get through the aforementioned difficult Big South tests. McGeehan’s squad fails to go far in the conference tournament, meaning it will have to be another year before the Fighting Camels get another shot at breaking its 30-year tournament drought.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Micah Hurewitz is a Trinity senior and was previously a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.