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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Campbell University has been picked to finish on top of the Big South Conference North Division in a pre-season poll of league men's basketball head coaches.
Coming off a 17-15 season when it finished third (11-7) in the Big South standings, Coach Robbie Laing's Fighting Camels return three starters from last year's club, including Trey Freeman and Darren White, both of whom were named to the pre-season all-conference first team.
Campbell received 21 first-place votes and eight second to finish atop the North Division with 166 points. VMI, which received 5 first-place votes, was second with 136 points, followed by High Point (3 first place, 103 points), Liberty (98), Radford (57) and the league's newest member, Longwood (49).
"I believe pre-season recognition is an indicator that we have developed a quality program," said Laing, who is entering his 10th year in charge of the Fighting Camel program. "How accurate a pre-season poll is, I don't know, but it indicates that we are putting a consistent product out there. The last half of this decade, we've put together a really solid program. Now, we're hoping to make a bigger jump, get deep into the Big South tournament and into post-season play."
Charleston Southern (16 first place), which tied with Campbell for third place last year, was picked to win the South Division with 157 points, followed by Coastal Carolina (8, 147), UNC Asheville (5, 130), Winthrop (67), Gardner-Webb (58) and Presbyterian (50).
The 2012-13 prediction marked the first time since 1988-89 that Campbell was predicting to finish at the top of its league pre-season ranking in men's basketball.
A senior from Danville, Va., White finished 5th among league scoring leaders (16.8), 4th in field goal percentage (.520) and 8th in blocks (1.06) in 2011-12, when he was named to the all-conference second team. The 6-foot-4 wing guard scored in double figures 28 times in 32 games, including 10 contests of 20 or more points. He scored 33 points in a game twice (setting a Gore Arena record in the process) – against North Carolina A&T in CU's first outing in the Dale Howard Classic – and vs. Methodist.
White set a school junior class record for points (536) in a year, a total that is tied for the 8th-highest in CU senior college (since 1961-62) history and 4th-most in the Division I era. He nearly missed a triple-double with 22 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and 8 assists in a win over VMI, setting a CU Gore Arena rebounding mark in the process.
"Darren can score the ball in so many ways," said Coach Laing. "He finishes at the hole so well, his mid-range game is just phenomenal, and yet was one of the best 3-point shooters in the conference last year. Because of that, we're going to put the ball in the hand of the guys who can score the most and make sure he gets high volume shot opportunities."
He was chosen Big South player of the week twice by CollegeSportsMadness.com, the second time following a 25-point (18 in the second half) performance in CU's 87-81 loss at NC State. White was selected for Big South monthly all-league teams by CollegeHoops.net in November, December and January.
In addition, White was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court and earned a place on the Big South Conference Presidential Honor Roll. An information technology and security major, White owns a 3.41 cumulative grade-point average.
At 6-four, Darren can take over a game, and he has," said Laing. "He's got to be a guy we can depend on to do that on a more regular basis."
Freeman was named the 2012 Big South Conference freshman of the year and to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Freshman All-America Team. The 6-foot-2 point guard led all Big South freshmen in scoring (13.9), free throw percentage (.871), field goal accuracy (.437), assist-turnover ratio (1.59) and minutes played (32.03), while ranking 2nd in assists (3.83).
A native of Virginia Beach, Va., Freeman led the conference and ranked 26th in the nation in foul shooting. Overall, he finished sixth among Big South leaders in assists, fifth in assist-turnover ratio, 8th in minutes and 14th in scoring.
"Trey has lots of intangible qualities," said Coach Laing. "He has an intrinsic gene for winning. His mid-range game is really, really good, he has the ability to go to the rim, and if he gets fouled, he's one of the nation's best free throw shooters. Trey's enthusiasm for the game just permeates through the team."
In addition to being the leading vote-getter on the Big South all-freshman team, Freeman was named to the Big South all-conference 4th team by College Sports Madness. He was one of 25 players selected to the 2012 Mid-Major freshman team by CollegeInsider.com, which produces the weekly Mid-Major Top-25 poll.
Freeman scored in double digits 23 times in 28 games, including five, 20-point efforts. He scored a season-high 28 points in a 96-82 win over Liberty (Dec. 1), tallied 22 in a 62-57 triumph over Charleston Southern (Feb. 2) and had 20 (including 12-of-12 from the line) in Campbell's 76-74 victory against East Carolina (Nov. 14). He was named Big South freshman of the week three times during the year.
He opened the year by setting a school record of 29-straight free throws made, a mark he broke in January and February when he hit 35 in a row from the line. On the year, he made 101 of his 116 foul shots to set a school record for free throw accuracy.
Freeman recorded the 2nd-highest scoring game by a Camel freshman in his collegiate debut with a 22-point effort on Nov. 11, 2011 vs. Houston Baptist. Only Clarence Grier (25 points at East Carolina on Nov. 26, 1983) has scored more points in his freshman debut for the Camels since the program moved to the Division I ranks in 1977-78.
"Darren and Trey were disappointed in the way our season ended last year with four-straight losses," said Coach Laing. "They didn't just talk about what they wanted to do; they went out and took action. They willingly took constructive criticism about what needed to get better, and took action immediately.
"There's no question our two best players are our two hardest workers. They're at the front of the pack, our feature players and hardest workers, who do the best job off the court as students and representatives of our program and university. Fortunately, we've got a bunch of guys who want to help them carry that flag and do the right things to become a better team," said Laing.
Not only did the 2011-12 Camels earn the program's highest seed in a conference tournament since 1996, fans responded by jamming Gilbert Craig Gore Arena. Five of the top 10 single-game crowds in the 4-year history of the 3,095-seat facility came during the 2011-12 campaign including a pair of games that topped the 3000-attendance mark. Campbell led all Big South schools in home game attendance (2020) during conference play.
Since moving into Gore Arena before the 2008-09 campaign, Campbell has produced a 40-16 (.714) record at the building, including an 11-2 mark in 2011-12.
Over the past four seasons, the Camels have won 62 games – the most in a 4-year span in the program's Division I history – and compiled a 42-36 (.538) mark in regular season league action.
The Camels knocked off a BCS conference member school (Iowa) for the second-straight year, swept the two-game series from defending league regular season champ Coastal Carolina, and defeated East Carolina in Buies Creek for the second-straight game. Campbell finished 11th in the nation in field goal percentage (.484), 15th in blocks (5.2) and 20th in assists (15.5).
"We're picked as a divisional leader, and have enjoyed recent success around the country," said Laing. "Now the target on our back, we're going to be the hunted. It's a challenge, but I'd rather have the expectation level we have and be accountable to that, than thinking that we'll sneak up on somebody. Our next step is to bridge that gap to go where we want to go."
2012-13 Big South Conference
Men's Basketball Pre-Season Poll
North Division (1st place) points
1. Campbell (21) 166
2. VMI (5) 136
3. High Point (3) 103
4. Liberty 98
5. Radford 57
6. Longwood 49
South Division
1. Charleston Southern (16) 157
2. Coastal Carolina (8) 147
3. UNC Asheville (5) 130
4. Winthrop 67
5. Gardner-Webb 58
6. Presbyterian 50
2012-13 Big South Pre-Season All-Conference Teams
First Team
Stan Okoye / VMI / Sr. / Forward / Raleigh, N.C.
Darren White / Campbell / Sr. / Guard / Danville, Va.
Anthony Raffa / Coastal Carolina / Sr.-R / Guard / Sea Isle, N.J.
Trey Freeman / Campbell / Soph. / Guard / Virginia Beach, Va.
Saah Nimley / Charleston Southern / Soph. / Guard / Lawrenceville, Ga.
Second Team
Khalid Mutakabbir / Presbyterian / Sr. / Guard / Suwanee, Ga.
Jeremy Atkinson / UNC Asheville / Sr. / Forward / Elm City, N.C.
Arlon Harper / Charleston Southern / Soph. / Guard / College Park, Ga.
Kierre Greenwood / Coastal Carolina / Sr. / Guard / Cincinnati, Ohio
Tashan Newsome / Gardner-Webb / Sr.-R / Guard / Albany, N.Y.
