Korinne Campbell is M'mm Good
February 24, 2010 10:32 PM | General
February 24, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women's basketball team is on the cusp of doing some really special things in 2010.
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| Korinne Campbell has found a home at West Virginia University.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
Consider:
Korinne Campbell probably doesn't have a lot of spare time to look at the Big Ten standings, but if she did she would notice that her old team Minnesota is near the bottom of the conference with a 13-14 overall record. And not that she takes delight in seeing her old teammates struggle, but Campbell is happy to be playing for one of college basketball's best teams in West Virginia. That's one of the reasons why she left Minnesota two years ago looking for a fresh start and a place more suited to her talents.
Campbell was one of the top players in the country at Notre Dame High School in Princeton, N.J., earning fourth team Parade All-America recognition as a high school senior. But right away she put out the word that she didn't want to follow her big sister Michelle's footsteps at Rutgers.
"We went to the same high school and all of the newspapers were like, 'Oh Michelle Campbell's little sister.' She did so much at my high school. She had all of the records except for the ones I have," said Korinne.
By eliminating Rutgers so quickly, Campbell opened the door to a bunch of schools and she eventually had to narrow her list down to the Big Ten, the ACC and Vanderbilt, ultimately picking Minnesota because of the coaches and the team atmosphere.
Then she saw the way they played in the Big Ten. Granny doing 45 on the freeway is faster than the way some of the Big Ten teams play.
"I felt that I really didn't fit into their style of play," Campbell explained diplomatically.
She stuck it out for two years, but near the end of her sophomore season she knew it was time to move on.
"I was ready to leave," she said. "I actually told them I was going to transfer because I was just ready for it to be done and I didn't want to drag it out during the postseason. I wanted to be up front with them. I waited a week before I actually gave the names of the schools that I wanted to be released to because I wanted to have the space of finishing my finals and getting through school."
In the meantime, she let her dad deal with all of the coaches that were calling when they found out that she was leaving Minnesota.
"I thought it was the recruiting process all over again," said laughed. "They're all telling me this, that and the other and my dad was the main person doing it because he didn't want me to stress out. He wanted me to finish school and then I had to get my stuff out of my apartment and get back home."
One of those calls came from West Virginia coach Mike Carey, whose team just happened to be one of the schools on Campbell's list. It met her criteria of being in a major conference and being near her family on the East coast. The Mountaineers also played a four-out offensive system that appealed to Campbell.
Carey's phone call to Campbell went very well.
"He told me that I would fit very well into his program and I thought that was big and that's what I really wanted," Campbell said.
Korinne was also looking for a strong-willed coach that would help improve her game.
"It didn't have to be a male coach but that was kind of what I was pushing toward - someone who never backs down," she said. "Even if I score 30 points it wouldn't matter, he treats everybody the same."
Talk about a match made in heaven.
Campbell gives Carey a versatile wing player that fits perfectly what he does offensively and defensively, and Carey gives Campbell a coach who demands excellence each and every time she steps on the court.
"When you can go to practice every day and it's a great routine because you've adapted, then it feels good because everything starts to become natural," Campbell said. "When I was at my other school I was hesitating trying to do stuff, but here I feel like everything is just coming natural. I don't feel overwhelmed. I feel relaxed."
And it's showing on the court.
Campbell is presently giving the Mountaineers about 11 points and eight rebounds per game. She is coming off her third straight double-double against Cincinnati (she has six so far this year) Tuesday night and has scored double figures in four of her last five games.
The 6-foot Campbell is a hard match up for defenses because she can take bigger people outside and can post up smaller guards in the paint. Her stat line from one column to the next is impressive - 314 points, 220 rebounds, 36 steals and 29 blocks.
"I just do what I have to do to help my teammates out," Campbell said. "If (leading scorer) Liz (Repella) is not in the game then I step it up a lot offensively. When Liz gets into foul trouble then I've got to take shots that I usually don't take. Rebounding is huge for our team, especially at the guard spot because guards don't remember to box out so I take advantage of that. It gives us another chance to get a shot."
West Virginia's remarkable success this year may have caught some people off guard, but not Campbell, who could see this coming during summer workouts and preseason camp.
"I feel like we're undercover and nobody knew what we were going to do," Campbell said. "In my head I knew we were Top 10 because of all the potential we had."
Now when the Mountaineers walk into other gyms people are beginning to take notice of them.
"You can see them looking at us a little bit different now," Campbell laughed. "(Cincinnati) was really amped up and they were ready. In the second half, we showed them why we are number seven in the country."
Campbell is grateful to be a part of a WVU program that could be heading toward something really special. And it likely won't end this year. West Virginia doesn't have a single senior on the team.
"People have actually come up to us when we are in a group and say thank you for working so hard," said Campbell. "That really means a lot that people would think that."
Keep on winning, Korinne, and those encounters could become just the tip of the iceberg.
