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When Dalhousie’s men’s basketball coach takes the reins of the University of Toronto’s program this fall, John Campbell will be faced with a familiar challenge: rebuilding a struggling program.
Campbell took over a 5-15 Tigers team in disarray in 2002 and molded them into a regular championship contender near the end of his tenure. The Varsity Blues team Campbell is adopting, which were 3-17 last season under interim leader Rick Dilena, is reminiscent of his early years at Dal.
Dal’s director of varsity athletics Karen Moore believes Campbell’s expertise will be an asset in Toronto.
“Maybe that’s going to become his speciality, he can just go around fixing basketball programs,” she says.
Campbell acknowledges the new gig will present challenges, but believes his team has the framework to succeed.
“The players believe they have a lot to prove, and I have to go in with the idea that I have a lot to prove as well.”
Campbell has nothing left to prove to Tigers supporters. He spent three of his first four seasons outside the post-season but his team has improved ever since, qualifying for every subsequent playoff berth and posting winning records in four of the past five years.
His career with the black and gold peaked with two conference titles in three years (2009 and 2011), including AUS coach of the year honours in 2010-11.
Leaving a program in which he has invested 11 years was not an easy decision for Campbell, particularly because of the team he is departing.
“It’s especially emotional considering the team that’s coming back next year is tremendously talented. They have great upside,” says Campbell.
He called the process of transforming last season’s young, inexperienced team into one of the conference’s top contenders the best season-long coaching experience he has had at Dal.
“You rarely had to coach effort with them,” he says. “You spent most of your time coaching technical and tactical things, which is every coach’s dream.”
Before joining Dal, Campbell coached women’s basketball at Laurentian University, men’s basketball at a CCAA school and was an assistant with two CIS programs.
Simon Marr, who led Dal with 13.7 points per game, spoke to Campbell earlier in April when his coach was contemplating the move. The fourth-year athlete does not begrudge his coach.
“He really loves our team and he’s a great guy, but this is a great opportunity for him.”
It should be a competitive search to find the next Tigers coach. Moore said several interested applicants were already “sniffing around” less than 24 hours after news broke on Apr. 30. The position may be filled within a month, she says.
James Vear, who formerly coached a professional basketball team in Britain, flew overseas this season to be Campbell’s lead assistant. Vear spoke highly of Campbell in a blog he wrote for HoopsFix.com.
“I’ve worked with some coaches that are regarded as some of the best in the world, and I honestly think that John is up there with those kinds of coaches,” he says from Britain in a Skype interview. “He’s not only a great coach but a great person as well.”
Vear will be an assistant with the Britain national U20 team this summer, a position Campbell held a year earlier.
Campbell feels moving to Toronto is the next step in his coaching career. The Varsity Blues will be gaining on the court and off, as a new athletics complex featuring a 2,000-seat basketball court opens in 2014.
“Anytime you have the chance to align yourselves with an organization that is investing the resources toward their programming, it’s exciting to be a part of,” Campbell says.
Campbell will be moving to Toronto with his wife and two daughters. His wife, Dianne Norman, became Dal’s first manager of student conflict resolution last year.
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