More News

Ahh, the halcyon days. Campbell was a superstar senior at Springbrook High then, and the basketball court was his personal playground. But Campbell is no longer a kid. And basketball has gotten much more complicated.

He is now a senior at the tail end of a better-than-average career at George Mason University, the former college basketball nobody from Fairfax, Va., that still seems to be pinching itself after its dreamy 2005-06 season.

‘‘Those were my young days,” Campbell said, recalling with a smile the time he earned a technical for hanging on the rim after a last-minute dunk against rival Blake. ‘‘I was just enjoying life back then. I was just enjoying basketball. Basketball is fun. Right now, in college, it’s definitely” – he paused for a moment, and then began again – ‘‘It’s still fun, but you take it more seriously.”

Now there are 9,000 screaming fans and TV timeouts and more media. There are leadership and legacy issues, position carousels and once-in-a-lifetime tournament magic to recapture. And then, of course, there’s the biggest concern of all (cue the deep, echoing voice): THE FUTURE.

How did we get here from the ‘‘I’m just a kid” years? Maybe it’s the price of brilliance.

High school careers like Campbell’s are rare jewels indeed. In three varsity seasons, he scored 1,698 points and set 13 school records at Springbrook. He led all Montgomery County scorers as a junior (26.1 ppg) and again as a senior (28.4 ppg), when he was also named the 2003-04 All-Gazette player of the year.

In a 61-59 loss to Prince George’s County’s Northwestern in the 2004 Class 4A state championship game, he scored a game-high 25 points, two more than current Seattle Sonics forward Jeff Green, despite a debilitating ankle injury suffered in the first quarter of the game. At the time, revered Magruder coach Dan Harwood called Campbell ‘‘one of the best players to come out of Montgomery County in the last 20 years.”

When the 6-foot-4 guard arrived at George Mason, it wasn’t a stretch to say there was more excitement for what the basketball program was going to get out of him than vice versa. The Patriots were a good Colonial Athletic Association team, but, well, it was the Colonial Athletic Association.

By Campbell’s sophomore year, the Patriots were coming off a bland 16-13 season and predicted to finish third in the CAA. Instead, they went on one of the most incredible Cinderella runs in college basketball history, entering the NCAA tournament as an at-large 11th seed before knocking off perennial powerhouses Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut (and Wichita State) to reach the Final Four. There, the overnight national darlings finally succumbed to eventual champion Florida.

Campbell, who had a decent regular season, exploded in the tournament, leading the Patriots in scoring with 15.4 points per game, including a 21-point effort against Michigan State in the first round.

‘‘I think about it every day,” Campbell said of the amazing run in 2006. ‘‘There are a lot of things that a lot of college players won’t get to have. They won’t get to say they’ve been to the Final Four. For me to do that at a school that was small and bring fame to the school is just great. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

As a junior, Campbell made third team All-CAA with 13.9 points per game and entered his final season with big expectations. After a strong start, he hit a lull in late November and only averaged 9.5 points over his next 11 games.

After an embarrassing 73-55 loss to Kent State on Dec. 8, in which Campbell only scored nine points, George Mason coach Jim Larranaga had a long discussion in a Cleveland airport with his senior captain. Larranaga switched Campbell back to the point guard position he held for nearly all of the 2005-06 season.

Slowly, the move has paid off. Starting with a 20-point effort against Hofstra on Jan. 17, Campbell has been red-hot, averaging 20.4 points over the next 12 games. As of Feb. 26, he was averaging 15.4 points per game for the season. While Larranaga credits the position switch for Campbell’s improved play, Campbell chalks it up to a pre-Hofstra conversation he had with his family and the realization that he was trying to do too much as the team’s leader.

‘‘We were just talking about the future, where I want to be and what I want to do with my career and where I want this team to be at the end of my senior year – and my legacy at George Mason,” Campbell said.

While he hasn’t exactly set the record books on fire during his career, Campbell can rest assured that his George Mason legacy will be a favorable one. His NCAA tournament heroics alone would accomplish that. But he is also the only player in program history to record at least 1,400 points, 450 rebounds, 350 assists, 150 3-pointers, 100 steals and 50 blocks in his career.

Could his numbers have been higher if he had stuck to one position throughout his career, rather than playing everything but center over four seasons? Maybe. But Campbell doesn’t think like that.

‘‘I consider myself a player,” he said. ‘‘I don’t really consider myself at any position. I just want to be on the court – whatever helps my team.”

Will this unglamorous versatility get Campbell into the NBA? According to Larranaga, scouts have been tracking him since his sophomore year.

‘‘I think the question at the NBA level is: Is he a point guard or a two? Is he the type of athlete who can guard guys like Kobe Bryant or Tracy McGrady?” Larranaga said. ‘‘I’m certain he’s good enough to show how good he is. Whether or not he’s going to be drafted, it’s too early to tell.”

There are other options, too. Three former teammates from the Final Four team – Lamar Butler (Turkey), Jai Lewis (Israel) and Takoma Park native Tony Skinn (France) – are all playing overseas. But that’s a discussion for another day. Now, Campbell must find a way to lead his team back to the NCAA tournament. With a 19-9 record (11-5 CAA) through Feb. 26, the Patriots likely must win the CAA tournament (March 7-10) to get an NCAA bid, especially after blowing a huge halftime lead and losing to Ohio on national television Saturday.

‘‘I want to continue playing basketball [after college], but I’m focused on what’s going on now,” Campbell said. ‘‘I know if my team does well, I’ll do well. It’s all about this team and us getting better.”

Folarin Campbell’s college career

Season GP FG% 3PT% FT% REB AST PTS

2004-05 29 40.8 30.5 68.9 2.2 1.3 6.4

2005-06 35 49.1 34.3 76.1 4.2 3.4 11.0

2006-07 32 37.6 30.7 72.2 3.9 3.8 13.9

2007-08* 28 43.5 39.4 73.8 4.4 3.4 15.4

* Statistics through Feb. 26