BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Fourteen home games at the brand new John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center, a trip to the UCF Holiday Classic and an intriguing non-conference segment highlight the 2008-09 Campbell University men's basketball schedule.

Sixth-year head coach Robbie Laing's Fighting Camels, with three returning starters plus eight newcomers, plan to once again extend the floor and push the tempo. Twice in the last three years, the Camels have ranked among the nation's top-20 scoring teams and the Gilbert Craig Gore Arena crowds should be treated to more of the same this year.

Outside the League

The Camels open the campaign with three home dates among the first four games. Campbell hosts Division II Chowan on Sat., Nov. 15 at 8:15 p.m. in the first men's basketball game to be played on the Gore Arena floor at the Pope Convocation Center.

That date will cap an exciting day in Campbell athletics. The Camels wrap up their home football schedule at noon on Nov. 15 against Valparaiso at Barker-Lane Stadium. The Atlantic Sun Conference men's soccer championship game will also be played that afternoon on campus at the Eakes Athletic Complex. Campbell also opens its women's basketball slate at home with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off against Coker.

A trip to Greenville on Nov. 19 marks CU's lone road contest before Thanksgiving. The 7:00 p.m. tip-off in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum will be the first meeting between Campbell and East Carolina since Robbie Laing's first game as CU head coach on Nov. 22, 2003. Coach Mack McCarthy's Pirates will visit Buies Creek during the 2009-2010 campaign, marking the first time Campbell will host a member of Conference USA in men's basketball action.

Defending Big South Conference regular season champion UNC Asheville visits the Pope Center on Sat., Nov. 22 for a 3:15 p.m. start. The Bulldogs advanced to the NIT and fashioned a 23-10 record last season, including a pair of tight victories over the Camels, but have lost four of their top five scorers, including their graduated back court of Bryan Smithson and K.J. Garland. Seven-foot-seven center Kenny George will not be with UNCA due to off-season foot surgery.

Campbell plays the first of two dates with high-scoring Virginia Military Institute two days later (Nov. 24) at 7:00 p.m. in Buies Creek.

VMI led the nation in scoring in 2007-08 at 91.3 points per game. The Keydets hit the 100-point mark eight times last year. The Camels ranked second nationally in scoring 2005-06 and 18th one year later when CU scored 100 or more points on five occasions.

Appalachian State and Campbell continue a home-and-home series on Nov. 29 at Boone. The Mountaineers have claimed victories over the Camels in each of the last two years, including a 71-64 decision at Carter Gym last season.

Following an eight-day break for final examinations, the Camels also travel to Lexington, Va., to face VMI on Tues., Dec. 9. The games with the Keydets mark the first between the schools since Campbell topped VMI 89-65 on Feb. 19, 1981 in Carter Gym.

20-Game A-Sun Schedule

With the departure of Gardner-Webb for the Big South Conference, the Atlantic Sun membership will participate in a 20-game, double-round robin regular season format in 2008-09.

Campbell opens the Atlantic Sun Conference season with a two-game swing through the Sunshine State, beginning on Dec. 13 with its first-ever visit to Fort Myers to play at Florida Gulf Coast. Two days later, Campbell travels to Stetson.

Last season, the Camels fell to both FGCU (73-78) and Stetson (52-57) at Carter Gym in the only meetings of the year with the schools due to divisional scheduling. The Eagles finished their first season of A-Sun play with a 10-21 overall record and 6-10 league mark. Stetson went 16-16 in 2007-08, 11-5 in conference regular season competition.

CU then hosts Division II member UNC Pembroke on Sat., Dec. 20 to close out the pre-Christmas portion of the ledger.

A trip to the University of Central Florida Holiday Classic in Orlando, Dec. 29-30, marks Campbell's first competition in an in-season tournament since the Camels hosted the Coca-Cola Classic at Fayetteville's Crown Coliseum in Nov. 1997.

Campbell will meet Chicago State on Dec 29 in a 4:30 p.m. tip-off at the New UCF Arena (cap. 10,000). Host Central Florida faces Penn at 7:00 p.m. The consolation game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 30, followed by a 7:00 p.m. championship contest.

The Camels then return to A-Sun competition for the final 18 games of the regular season. Mercer (Jan. 3) and Kennesaw State (Jan. 5) open the new year at the Pope Center before the Camels make their annual trip to Nashville, Tenn. to face Lipscomb (Jan. 8) and Belmont (Jan. 10).

Campbell faces the longest-tenured school in the league when the Camels host Mercer and new head coach Bob Hoffman on Jan. 3. Campbell stands as the third-longest tenured member of the A-Sun behind Mercer (1978) and Stetson (1985). The Bears have won the last three games against CU by a total of seven points, including a 75-70 decision in Macon, Ga. during 2007-08.

Campbell topped Kennesaw State 75-55 last season in Carter Gym behind Jonathan Rodriguez' 20-point, 12-rebound effort, plus a career-high 14 points from Preston Dodson.

Lipscomb owns a five-game win streak in the series with the Camels. However, six of the last eight games between the schools have been decided by seven, or fewer, points.

Campbell has won twice in the last four meetings with 3-time defending A-Sun champion Belmont. Both of those victories came at Carter Gym, including last season's 83-75 Camel triumph when CU scored the first 17 points of the game. The Camels are 0-9 all-time against the Bruins in Nashville, including a loss in the quarterfinal round of last year's A-Sun tournament hosted by Lipscomb. In fact, Belmont has ended CU's season in each of the last three A-Sun Championship events.

Jacksonville (Jan. 17) and North Florida (Jan. 19) make appearances at the Pope Center during January's third week. The Camels have won two of their last three games against the Dolphins, dropping a 77-66 decision last year at River City in the only meeting between the A-Sun rivals.

The Camels have won four-straight games against the Ospreys, including last season's 78-74 overtime decision at Jacksonville. Campbell makes the return trip to North Florida on Valentine's Day and plays the Dolphins at the downtown Veterans Memorial Arena two nights later.

On Jan. 22, Campbell will again attempt to defeat East Tennessee State for the first time since the Pirates joined the league in 2005-06. ETSU has won all six games against CU since the Bucs joined the A-Sun, including a five-point decision last year at Johnson City, Tenn., and a nine-point victory on Feb. 25 in the final game played at Carter Gym.

The second leg of the road trip marks CU's second visit to Spartanburg, S.C., to face USC Upstate on Jan. 24. Last season, the Camels and the Spartans each won on the other's home floor in Upstate's inaugural A-Sun season.

CU's only Wednesday home game of the 2008-09 campaign follows on Jan. 28 when Florida Gulf Coast visits Carter Gym. The contest is followed by Campbell's return trip to Kennesaw State (Jan. 31) and Mercer (Feb. 2).

Belmont visits the Pope Center Feb. 6 for an A-Sun Friday night game of the week on CSS-TV. Last year, the Camels dealt Gardner-Webb a 93-73 loss at Buies Creek in front of the regional TV audience. Lipscomb makes its first Pope Center visit on Mon., Feb. 9. The Bisons have won four-straight games in Buies Creek and the six games played between the two schools in North Carolina have been decided by an average margin of 5.2 points.

After CU's final road swing of the regular season to Jacksonville, Fla., the Camels close the campaign with three-straight home contests vs. USC Upstate (Feb. 21), ETSU (Feb. 23) and another CSS-TV date against Stetson on Fri., Feb. 27.

March Madness

Lipscomb hosts the A-Sun men's and women's basketball championships for the second-straight year at Allen Arena in Nashville, Mar. 4-7, 2009.

The format will feature 14 teams playing 12 games over four days, culminating in Championship Saturday. The men's basketball final will be featured on an ESPN property while the women's champion will be crowned live on Comcast Sports Southeast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS).

Scheduling for the 2009 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championship will be as follows:

Wednesday, Mar. 4 – One session featuring 2 vs. 7 seeds of each gender.

Thursday, Mar. 5 – Two sessions featuring 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5 games of each gender.

Friday, Mar. 6 – Two sessions with women's semifinals first followed by men's semifinals.

Saturday, Mar. 7 – Dependent on ESPN scheduling.

The host team will play in the evening session in its first game, either on Wednesday and/or Thursday, while Friday semifinal match-ups will be determined by Thursday outcomes (winner of early Thursday game will play the early Friday game). The men's semifinals will be featured in the evening session due to previous contractual commitment for television broadcast with CSS.

Rodriguez Leads Returning Class

The Camels return four regulars from last year's squad, including two-time, first-team A-Sun all-conference selection Jonathan Rodriguez. The 6-foot-5 forward from Bayamon, P.R., by way of Miami (Fla.) Calusa Prep led the conference and ranked 22nd nationally in scoring (20.9), while rating 20th in the country (second in the league) in rebounding (10.1). Rodriguez has scored in double figures in 38-straight games. He was one of only six players in Division I to average 20 and 10 boards per game.

Six-foot-eight junior forward Kyle Vejraska of Alachua, Fla., chipped in 10.0 points and while ranking eighth among league leaders in field goal percentage (.506) and 14th in blocked shots (22).

Sophomore point guard Junard Hartley rated third among league leaders in assists (4.4) and 10th in steals (1.57). Also back is 6-foot-5 sophomore Preston Dodson, who chipped in 4.3 points and 2.9 boards while playing in all 30 games.

Also back are red-shirt freshman guard Cole Dewey, plus walk-on guards Jake Capin and Jonathan Perry. Campbell (10-20, 5-11 A-Sun) registered double-figure wins for the third-consecutive year in 2007-08 under the guidance of Robbie Laing. The last time the program recorded that feat was 1996-98.

Eight-Man Recruiting Class

The 2008 Fighting Camel list of newcomers includes Jabril Bailey, who earned third-team All-Region 20 honors at Cecil Community College as a red-shirt freshman in 2007-08. He averaged 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Seahawks, who went 31-1, captured the Maryland JUCO conference regular season and tournament titles and were ranked number-one in the final regular season NJCAA Division II poll. A product of New Castle, Del., the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Bailey earned first-team all-state honors at Delcastle Technical High School in 2006. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

A 6-foot-2, 170-pound guard, Amir Celestin helped lead Miami (Fla.) Norland High School to state titles in 2006 and 2008. He scored 18 points – including 13-straight in a decisive 22-7 third quarter run – to lead Norland to a 59-54 victory over Boyd Anderson, which was ranked 20th nationally by the National Prep Basketball Poll, in the Florida 6-A finals. He was named first-team all-state and MVP of the Florida 6-A state championship game. Celestin finished his senior year with averages of 10.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, while connecting on 47 percent of his 3-point field goal attempts.

A 6-foot-6, 210-pound forward from Bangui, Central Africa, William Kossangue joined the Camels from highly-regarded Tyler (Texas) Junior College, which was ranked 10th in the final NJCAA Division I regular season poll. As a sophomore, Kossangue averaged 7.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He shot 52 percent from the floor and 37 percent from 3-point range.

Lorne Merthie is a 6-foot-1 combo guard, who was a second-team Class 6A all-state player for Winter Springs High School in Sanford, Fla., last season. He averaged 15.5 points and 3.5 assists while helping his team reach the state 6A Final Four.

A 6-foot-5, 190-pound wing forward, Chris Reynolds was a all-state selection as a senior when he contributed 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds to Glenn Hills High School's 6-A state title squad that won 29 of 31 games. He shared team MVP honors in each of his final three prep campaigns, and won all-region and all-area recognition three times.

A 6-foot-4, 198-pound forward, Miles Taylor comes to Campbell from Pensacola Junior College, where he twice earned All-Panhandle Conference recognition in his hometown. As a sophomore in 2008, he averaged 12.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and shot 52 percent from the floor. He graduated from PJC last December with honors and was a finalist for the Hal Chasey Award, which is presented annually to the top junior college basketball scholar athlete in the state of Florida.

A 6-foot-3, 220-pound guard, Chad Thompson averaged 18.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists as a sophomore at Moberly Area (Mo.) Community College. He shot 48 percent from the floor, 40 percent from 3-point distance and 80 percent from the line, while earning all-region honors.

Matt Gwynne, who hails from nearby Angier, N.C., also joined the Fighting Camels as a transfer from Tennessee-Chattanooga. The 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward played in 58 games over two seasons with the Mocs, averaging 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per outing. After sitting out the 2008-09 season according to NCAA transfer guidelines, Gwynne will have two years of eligibility remaining. As a sophomore in 2007-08, Gwynne contributed 5.9 points and 4.3 boards in 15. 4 minutes over 227 outings. He made 14-of-41 three-point field goals (.341) and hit 70.4 percent (38-54) from the line.