Campbell shares traits with CBI semifinal opponent
Campbell men?s basketball coach Kevin McGeehan will see a pair of familiar faces on the opposing bench when the Camels take the floor against the University of San Francisco on Thursday.
Before joining the Dons as the director of basketball operations, Mike Magpayo spent three years on McGeehan?s staff in Buies Creek.
USF assistant coach Kevin Hovde played at Richmond during McGeehan?s tenure as an assistant coach under Chris Mooney.
As the Camels (18-15) prepare for a semifinal showdown with the Dons (20-15) on Thursday at 10 p.m. in the College Basketball Invitational tournament, McGeehan said the similarities will become apparent once the ball is tipped.
?In a lot of ways, it?s like looking at ourselves,? McGeehan said. ?A guy who I recruited at Richmond is their offensive coordinator so they do a lot of things similar to us. Their operations guy was my assistant last year. There are a lot of familiarities between the two teams.?
But McGeehan doesn?t want his team to lose sight of itself by staring at an opponent that shares many of the same traits.
?Because there?s so much familiarity, I think it?s about who?s able to do what they do and get to the next thing without having to go to resets,? he said.
?The team that can do a better job of being who they are is going to have the best chance. For us, it?s always physicality ? being able to compete on the glass well and not have that be the major, weighing factor in the game.?
Coming off a thrilling last-second 71-69 win over New Orleans on Monday, the Camels carry plenty of momentum with them on their 2,848-mile journey to San Francisco.
Junior guard Chris Clemons, the fourth-leading scorer in the nation, scored 23 of his game-high 35 points in the second half against New Orleans to help the Camels overcome a double-digit deficit and secure a spot in the CBI semifinals.
Now, Campbell is set to face a balanced San Francisco team that has four players averaging double-digit points per game, led by Souley Boum (11.3).
The Dons compete in the West Coast Conference with a pair of national-ranked programs in Gonzaga and St. Mary?s. San Francisco topped the then-ranked No. 15 Gaels earlier this season for its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since 2012.
?They?re a very good team,? McGeehan said. ?They play in a tremendous conference against some of the best teams in the country. They?re tough, they play together, and they have a couple of guys that are really dynamic players that we?re going to have to do a really good job on to give ourselves a good chance.?
Thursday?s winner will advance to play North Texas in a best-of-three championship series next week.
And if history is any indication, the CBI crown could mean a future NCAA Tournament berth for one of the four remaining teams.
Two of the past three CBI champions ? Nevada (2016) and Loyola Chicago (2015) ? are competing in the Sweet 16 this week.
McGeehan knows the postseason experience can only help a Campbell program that has experienced postseason basketball in back-to-back seasons for the first time in its Division I era.
?I think any time you get the experience to play a couple extra weeks, having to prepare in a different way against teams you?re playing all the time, all of that experience is positive, regardless of the outcome,? he said.
?You?re learning from these experiences. When you?re one of only a handful of teams left playing in the nation I think it?s a positive thing for anybody.?
Campbell men?s basketball coach Kevin McGeehan will see a pair of familiar faces on the opposing bench when the Camels take the floor against the University of San Francisco on Thursday.
Before joining the Dons as the director of basketball operations, Mike Magpayo spent three years on McGeehan?s staff in Buies Creek.
USF assistant coach Kevin Hovde played at Richmond during McGeehan?s tenure as an assistant coach under Chris Mooney.
As the Camels (18-15) prepare for a semifinal showdown with the Dons (20-15) on Thursday at 10 p.m. in the College Basketball Invitational tournament, McGeehan said the similarities will become apparent once the ball is tipped.
?In a lot of ways, it?s like looking at ourselves,? McGeehan said. ?A guy who I recruited at Richmond is their offensive coordinator so they do a lot of things similar to us. Their operations guy was my assistant last year. There are a lot of familiarities between the two teams.?
But McGeehan doesn?t want his team to lose sight of itself by staring at an opponent that shares many of the same traits.
?Because there?s so much familiarity, I think it?s about who?s able to do what they do and get to the next thing without having to go to resets,? he said.
?The team that can do a better job of being who they are is going to have the best chance. For us, it?s always physicality ? being able to compete on the glass well and not have that be the major, weighing factor in the game.?
Coming off a thrilling last-second 71-69 win over New Orleans on Monday, the Camels carry plenty of momentum with them on their 2,848-mile journey to San Francisco.
Junior guard Chris Clemons, the fourth-leading scorer in the nation, scored 23 of his game-high 35 points in the second half against New Orleans to help the Camels overcome a double-digit deficit and secure a spot in the CBI semifinals.
Now, Campbell is set to face a balanced San Francisco team that has four players averaging double-digit points per game, led by Souley Boum (11.3).
The Dons compete in the West Coast Conference with a pair of national-ranked programs in Gonzaga and St. Mary?s. San Francisco topped the then-ranked No. 15 Gaels earlier this season for its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since 2012.
?They?re a very good team,? McGeehan said. ?They play in a tremendous conference against some of the best teams in the country. They?re tough, they play together, and they have a couple of guys that are really dynamic players that we?re going to have to do a really good job on to give ourselves a good chance.?
Thursday?s winner will advance to play North Texas in a best-of-three championship series next week.
And if history is any indication, the CBI crown could mean a future NCAA Tournament berth for one of the four remaining teams.
Two of the past three CBI champions ? Nevada (2016) and Loyola Chicago (2015) ? are competing in the Sweet 16 this week.
McGeehan knows the postseason experience can only help a Campbell program that has experienced postseason basketball in back-to-back seasons for the first time in its Division I era.
?I think any time you get the experience to play a couple extra weeks, having to prepare in a different way against teams you?re playing all the time, all of that experience is positive, regardless of the outcome,? he said.
?You?re learning from these experiences. When you?re one of only a handful of teams left playing in the nation I think it?s a positive thing for anybody.?
