Tim McCormick’s Top 3 Teams in The Big Ten & special guest Campy Russell – GO Blue Hoops Ep 52

[Hail Media Group presents Go Blue Hoops, where Michigan basketball’s past, present, and future all come together in one show. Hosted by former Wolverine great, 10-year NBA veteran, and longtime ESPN and NBC college basketball analyst Tim McCormick. Each episode goes beyond the box scores from championship memories and recruiting stories to sharp breakdowns of the season ahead. Insight, legacy, Michigan basketball. This is Go Blue Hoops.

Hey everybody, the Go Blue Hoops podcast today is presented by the leaders and the best at Michigan Medicine. And man, we’ve got a good one for you. Remember, there’s a difference between an answer and a Michigan answer. To find your Michigan answer, visit michiganers.org. Special special thanks to Michigan Medicine.

Also, our sponsor OLIPOP is a wonderful friend of the show. I enjoy drinking OLIPOP. It tastes great and it’s much healthier than other soda options. special thanks to Knight’s Steakhouse. Definitely a fantastic option for a great great meal right on Michigan’s campus.

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Let’s welcome you to the Go Blue Hoops podcast, and as I said, we’ve got a really good one for you. U, I’ve been thinking about the potential of this Michigan basketball team. I was at practice on Thursday and I’m watching really closely at the depth and the development of the young players. There’s a lot of talent. so on the show today, I’m going to go through and take a close look at the three teams in the Big Ten that will battle for a conference championship.

the three teams that I think have the potential to play at Ford Field on April 3rd and April 5th in the Final Four this year. I’m also elated about our Michigan man interview. this is a guy that I’ve wanted to get on the podcast for so long. He’s a true legend. He’s a Michigan man.

He’s one of only seven players in the history of Michigan basketball to make it into the NBA All-Star game. C can you think who this could possibly be? It’s not Glenn Rice. It’s not Rudy T. it’s the great Campy Russell.

one of only seven in the All-Star game and he’s somebody I’ve looked up to for a long long time. Also want to point out to you that on this podcast, I’m getting even more excited when I consider the fact that in 11 days, Michigan plays their first game of the season. It’s an exhibition at Crisler against Eastern Michigan. I know it’s 77° outside. The weather feels like late summer, but be excited.

That first game is coming up in a week and a half. also Michigan is going to play Oregon State and their new head coach, former Michigan assistant coach, Justin Joiner. that game is coming up shortly thereafter. And then the best one, I can’t believe I’ve got a chance to watch Michigan against Houston at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. That will be a great early test.

Why are they playing that game? because it doesn’t count on your record, but you can learn an awful lot from that game about what your team is all about. All right. Also, I want to be clear about some of the conjecture and the opinions about Roddy Gayle and Kenny Noland’s case. Both had successful rulings from the judge regarding their eligibility for next year.

So far, all good news. Both players were really excited about how things have gone and they’re very optimistic that they will be in the lineup next year. The only uncertainty is the request for the NCAA to appeal the case if if they want to. It seems unlikely that the NCAA would be successful, but I would imagine that they would go ahead and try. So, here’s the question that I had.

because the NCAA may be appealing both decisions. If Michigan had a game tomorrow, would Kenny Noland and Roddy Gayle play? And the answer is yes. Until the NCAA proves something, both of those players are fully eligible. They’re practicing.

They look great. And also, the court case in Colorado is even more important. It’s my understanding that if they rule in favor of all the 2022 players that all of them would be eligible next year. So, we really hope that happens. especially because those are two veteran players that bring so much to the table.

I am highly optimistic. I have been the whole way. I just hope this does not continue to drag on. Okay. Now, who are the three teams in the Big Ten that I think will battle for the Big Ten title, and to me, it’s very clear.

the first team I want to talk about is Illinois. There’s so much to like about this team. They have Final Four experience from last year. Now, they did lose Keaton Wagler to the NBA, but the roster is still completely loaded. Brad Underwood loves to play fast.

He’s offensive-minded. players love his system. I think Illinois will lead the Big Ten in scoring this year and rebounding. I love their front line. Tomislav Ivisic is 71, 250 lbs.

He’s their top scorer and rebounder. Andrej Stojakovic, the son of Peja. he is a future NBA player. And the key guy is David Mirkovic, who I think is their best player. I think he’s the most valuable player.

Not counting guards. He is just a complete player. He’s a bull out there. He can shoot. He’s smart.

The key thing to remember about Mirkovic is he broke his foot this summer. I don’t know if it was a Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal or what exactly he did, but I do think by the start of the Big Ten season, he should be back. and pretty healthy. Illinois has great size and depth. Love their perimeter shooting.

The concern to me is going to be guard play. they they lost Waggler and other depth. They have a kid named Quinn Coleman. He’s a five-star freshman guard. he will add a lot.

Also, Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks is 67. He’s a guard. He loves to shoot. not much of a defensive player. but he really adds a lot.

the biggest team in the Big Ten comes out of Champaign, but once again, do they have a point guard and do they have Mirkovic with his broken foot? The second team in the Big Ten that I think has the potential to battle at the top and win the Big Ten and then also get to the Final Four is Michigan State. And nobody’s surprised by that. Tom Izzo is one of the best of all time. I assure you that he does not like Michigan.

I think he likes Michigan even less than last year after what we did to them during the regular season. he’s a great defensive coach, a high character team. They run their system well and everyone does their job. they’re led by Jeremy Fears who is outstanding. He and Elliot Cadeau will battle all year long for player of the year in the conference.

I love the wing depth for Michigan State. They’ve got Cam Ward and Jordan Scott, best shooters on the team. Coen Carr, college basketball’s best athlete. This is a guy that could easily jump up and hit his head on the rim. Don’t recommend that, but he has that ability.

Kur Teng does a really good job of spreading the court. Jase Richardson and Kur Teng are young players that are explosive guards. These guys are so fa fast and they’re great playmakers. they will get a lot of run. Now here are a few of my concerns about Michigan State.

They lost Carson Cooper and Jackson Kohler, their two centers. A massive loss for the Spartans. Anton Bonke transferred from Charlotte. He’s huge and he doesn’t move very well and I don’t think he’s a great defensive player. Now, he can protect the rim a little bit, but their defense may not be as good as we’ve seen in the past.

Also, it’s hard to play 11 guys. They may have way too much depth. I don’t expect that to be a problem because Tom Izzo is an expert at managing chemistry, but it is really hard to have that many good players that play the same position. So, here’s what we know about the Spartans. Good defense.

They rebound as a team. They run in transition. And Tom Izzo desperately wants his second national title to add to his resume. Okay, so Illinois and Michigan State are final four. Good.

The third Big Ten team is just as good, maybe better. And I’m talking about the University of Michigan. On April 3rd, the Final Four in Detroit at Ford Field will be only 43 miles away from Crisler Center. Dusty May is in Dallas. The front court is in the NBA.

And everyone desperately wants a piece of the Wolverines. I’ve already watched this team play multiple multiple times at practice and I think they are big and skilled and deep deep enough to go for back-to-back. Here’s why I like their chances. Michigan has the best back court in the Big Ten with Cadeau and McKenney. Michigan was able to retain their roster.

All of the healthy players actually returned. Mike Boynton is a defense first coach that surrounded himself with elite offensive coaches. The front court is huge and talented. JP Estrella and Morez Johnson Jr. have NBA potential and Jaylen Reed can play both the four and the five and to me he looks completely healthy.

Also, the Big Ten lost a ton of talented guards. Braden Smith at Purdue gone. Donovan Dent, UCLA. Elsewhere, Bennett Stirtz, Iowa, NBA. Keaton Wagler, NBA.

Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, the guards from Wisconsin are gone. This is a huge opportunity. The talent is not quite as good in the Big Ten this year. And that’s why I think those three teams will be at the top. Also, having Roddy Gayle back for a fifth year will be an incredible boost.

Remember, 11 days to go until exhibition number one versus EMU. Let’s get this thing started. Hey, Michigan fans, we will be right back. But first, a word from our sponsor. For generations, Knight’s Steakhouse has been an Ann Arbor tradition.

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All right, everybody. It’s time for our Michigan man interview, and I am elated to welcome one of the best players in Michigan basketball history. One of my favorite players of all time. what did he do during his career? He was all Big Ten, all-American, Big Ten champion, Elite 8, NBA All-Star, the great great Campy Russell.

Campy, thank you so much. It’s always good to catch up with you. Well, Tim, thank you, man. Thank you for inviting me. You know, I’ve known you for a lot of years.

yes, you are a Michigan guy. Yes, you’re from the Oakland County, the same place I’m from. so, hey, man, everything is good. And thank you for allowing me to be a part of your show. Thank you.

How’s life going? You just had a very exciting trip. Can you can you tell us about it? Hey, Tim, life is beautiful, I tell you, man. And I’ll start with that trip.

I’ve been wanting to take a train trip from across country for years. And I waited until I was 74 years old to decide to do it. But I think the motivator was the fact that I said, “Man, you’re 74. How much longer do you have? Let’s go across country and see the things that you want to see.” And it was a joyful trip, man.

I tell you. I decided that one, I didn’t want to take a train from Cleveland all the way across to Seattle. So, I took a flight to Chicago, went down to Union Station, took a 3:30 train out of there on a Wednesday, and we got to Seattle Friday midday. And I tell you, man, that was the best trip I’ve ever had. I would prefer to do that now than to fly, but flying has the first leg up because it’s much shorter.

But I really enjoyed the trip. I enjoyed the countryside. I enjoyed Seattle once I got there. when I first got there, it was just so cloudy and how it can be and doom looking. But when the sun came out, it looked like a I would just say a diamond.

I mean, the place just lit up. that’s always been a city that I’ve always liked and enjoyed. I have some friends over there that I keep in contact from from time to time. In those two days that I was there, it was just a family reunion in some regards, but more importantly, it allowed me to fulfill something I had been wanting to do for a lot of years. Hey, anytime you do a bucket list item, that’s a good thing.

And speaking of bucket lists, Michigan won the national championship last year. How much did you get a chance to watch the team? What are some of your thoughts on what you saw? Well, I think the thing that I saw was a team that engaged together. And what I mean by that is that they played as a team.

I like the size that they had last year. I like the toughness that they brought every single night. Dusty May did a great job of bringing them all together. And the fact of the matter, Tim, and you know this, that you have to have a team concept, but more importantly, you have to have guys that all come together and enjoy each other. And that team looked exactly like that.

That was just a team that enjoyed themselves. They enjoyed each other. They played together. And Dusty May, I thought, did an outstanding job. And he led Michigan along with his team to a national championship.

That’s big. That’s big. Big big time. But the other side of it, Tim, I was a little disappointed that Dusty decided to go someplace else. We [clears throat] kind of saw that coming though, didn’t we?

[laughter] No, I did not. It I did not see that coming at all. All right. So, a lot of our our fans, especially the younger ones, don’t realize all of the quality ball that was played in the 70s. you played in 72 and 73 for the great Johnny Orr can you tell us a little bit about your teams and the success that you had some of the players that you played with in those two season at Michigan by the way in two years as a freshman sophomore you did average 20 points per game well I’m not going to talk about me right now I’m going to talk about the guys that I played with and as freshman’s you know that was a very good basketball team that we at C.J.

Kupec. I mean, a guy who we have struck a great relationship from the time we came to Michigan until this day. he’s one of my closest friends. No, no question about that. Also, Joe Johnson, one of my closest friends as well.

we played against each other in high school. He went to Detroit Ketering. I went to Pontiac Central and we beat them one year, they beat us the other year. but you know I think those were some great years in Michigan basketball and from a from a high school perspective more importantly there was a lot of good solid teams that was there at the time. Flint Northern which went on to beat Joe Johnson team which was Ketering.

it was just a very competitive u I want to say high school tournament probably one of the most competitive ones in my view because I was a part of it was one of the best ones that I’ve ever played in too. But at the other side of it, we lost the game. But, I gained a great friend in Joe Johnson. And to this day, he is one of my favorite friends, and I’m I’m the stepfather of his, daughter. So, hey, it’s been good.

Campy, it’s been 53 years. wow. Probably really enjoyed the Michigan National Championship this year, but you guys had an amazing squad as well. You played in the regional final versus Marquette. Yes.

Marquette went on and won the national championship. It was a two-point loss. What happened? What do you remember about that game? The thing that I remember about that game is I’ve always taken the blame for this that I didn’t get off to a good start.

I thought when you look back at that game I thought El Magguire, Maurice Lucas, Bo Ellis they had a really good basketball team and I always put this that game on me because I did not come out with the fire that I should have came out with from the very beginning. but we but we withstood all that. We still had had an opportunity to win the basketball game. It just so happened that you know Marquette did exactly what they needed to do. they went to their big guy which was Maurice Lucas at that time and Bo Ellis was a really good young player at that at that particular time who went on to play in the NBA as well as long as as well as Maurice Lucas but it was a disappointing situation for us because we were bound in our opinion all of us to go to national championship and losing that game was really a heartbreaking situation for me as well as for my teammates and hey it’s just part of our life’s journey.

So, I will take it just as that. You’re a good guy, Campy. I’m going to point this out. You had 21 points and 14 rebounds against some great players. So, you did your share.

Don’t Don’t be hard on yourself. Well, I I’m never going to be completely hard on myself, but it was just that the thing that I’m hard on myself about is that we lost that game only. You know, we had all the tools, we had all the personnel. I think we had everything we needed to win that game. It just so happened that Marquette played a better basketball game and they they slowed the game up.

They wanted to dirty up the game and that’s exactly what they did. What I remember, I was a big fan of Lloyd Walton. You didn’t mention him. And they had the coolest hoodies on their warm-up suits. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah. yeah. So, what do you remember about going to Michigan? What was it like walking on campus the first time? You know, it was a complete culture shift, I would think, playing at Crisler, Johnny or as an elite coach.

What do you remember about when you came to Michigan? I think the thing that helped stir me in the right direction was a guy who recruited me for Michigan, which at that time was Fred Snowden. Mhm. Who went on to Arizona before I after he assigned me to Michigan along with Johnny or he left and went to Arizona University. And that was a in my opinion it was a heartbreaking situation for me because he was the one that recruited me.

He was the one that did all the work but then he left and went on to Arizona. But when I look back at that, I think that was the best thing happened because it allowed me to play with C.J. Kupec, Joe Johnson, Billy Ayler, Doug Ash, Chuck Rogers, Steve Grote, who came later, which helped cement our team. I thought Steve Grote was a guy that brought a lot of toughness. And then the other guy that brought a lot of toughness to our team was Wayman Britt, you know, who turned out to be one of my best teammates really.

I mean, I’ I’ve had a bunch of them. We all had a good relationship with each other, but I think between Joe Johnson, C.J. Kupec, Chuck Rogers, and Wayman, that’s a tough group to talk about just one guy being the being my best friend. But all those guys were really good friends for me. As for being on the campus, it was definitely different for me, you know.

But but when I look back on it, we went we stayed at South Quad like most freshman stayed at South Quad. But the I got to know and be comfortable there as we went along. And what I mean by that is as I gained friends within the campus, as I became much closer to my teammates, as I became more closer to our coaching staff and all that, things started coming together for me. But I will never ever regret going to Michigan because I thought that was one of the best things that ever happened to me was going there because all of the relationship that have been created there because of just the academic piece of it. just because it was just such a great place and it still is one of the greatest places in college basketball as far as Campy Russell is concerned.

How how often do you get back to campus? Have you been to any games recently? haven’t been. The last game I went to was national championship one. That was the only thing that I did thus far.

I went back this summer actually and played golf with Dick Honig, C.J. Kupec, and Chuck Rogers. You know, for some reason, we always get together and play golf somewhere, whether it’s in in Chuck’s hometown, which is in in Ohio. I can’t call the name of the town right now, but Chuck Rogers, CJ was there, Wayman was there. We just had a good time.

and I think that’s what we try to do every year is that we try to make a connection somewhere where we all can come and talk and tell lies about the past and talk about, you know, where we are at this particular point in our lives. So, Campy, how hard is it to play golf with Wayman Britt talking nonstop in your back swing? Just never stops. Well, you know, Wayman is very competitive. probably the most competitive guy I’ve ever played with, you know, and that may be saying a lot, but he was, you know, he was that just that kind of guy.

So, Wayman is really is willing to do whatever it take to get a win. So, when you hear all that chatter that he’s going on, all only thing he’s trying to do is to get you off of your game. So, just stay within yourself and and I’m sure you probably end up winning the 18 holes. All right. I think so.

Yeah. I’m sure you think so. Yeah. and I want to call next time you guys are playing. Okay.

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, I’ve been lobbing easy softball questions to you. I’ve got a tough one.

Michigan’s national championship team this year against the 1989 Glenn Rice national champions. Who wins? I think the 89 team would win. And the only reason the only reason why I would say that is because I think that 89 team had this level of toughness. And I think in games like that, just like the game just like Michigan win this year, they had the toughness.

That is the thing that got that win for them. So when I look back at those two teams as as greater players that they had on those teams, I think would just come down to just pure raw toughness. who wants it the most. But when you but I cannot take anything away from this young team that we just saw to win the national championship. They were very very talented.

And one of the guys that I really thought was the difference maker. But that team, I can’t call the young kid’s name. He was from Flint and he went at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s for a while. Yeah.

Trey McKenney. Yeah. Trey McKenney. I mean, that guy in my view is a pro, you know, particularly if he continues to play and stay on the trajectory that he’s on at this particular point. And I think he’s going to bring a lot of different things to this team next year because now I think he fully have an understanding about college basketball, Big Ten basketball, and I just think he’s physically and mentally he should be a totally different player because he has aged some more.

And we all know as things age, except in basketball, that you get better. But I believe this young man is he has a high table and I believe that he can get to where he wants to get. And I’m sure he wants to win another national championship, but more importantly, I think his next step is I’m sure he wants to play in the league. So, I want to go back in time. Earlier, you mentioned that you and I are both from Oakland County.

I want to share a real quick story. When I was 10 years old, my uncle picked me up and I said, “Where are we going?” He said, “Just bear with me. Hang on.” And we drove 13 miles to Pontiac Central gym. And I had no idea what I was doing there. And he said, “Pontiac Northern is playing Pontiac Central tonight.

And if you ever want to be a ball player, you’ve got to learn how to survive in this environment.” And my eyes were wide open, and it was something like I had never seen. What a great rivalry that you played in and then Pontiac basketball was just sensational. What are your takes on that little story? Well, [laughter] one I think when you come into Pontiac, did you come to the old You came to the old Pontiac Central, right? I did.

Yes. Okay. The ones that was two tiers. Yeah. Two tiers and the brick wall around the around the Yeah.

Okay. I just wanted to make sure that we were in the same building. No, we’re same building camp. Okay. I think at that time in Pontiac and in Oakland County, I thought there was a lot of talent in that area in the area, not just in Pontiac, but in the area.

And to the point that you just made, you know, players from all around the county, whether it was Ferndale, whether it was Birmingham, whether it was Rochester, whether it was out there in Clarkson or whatever, they came to Pontiac to, you know, to play basketball. whether it was at the rec center or whether it was at the high schools. So I think it gave everybody a good feel of in my view where they are in their playing and truly as you were just saying about playing at Pontiac Central, it was a tough place to play because of the way it was built, they had instead of a square basket, they had those moon round baskets which made people kind of feel uneasy because it’s something different. But as far as Pontiac Central and Pontiac itself, I think that was just a for me it was and my family.

I think it was a great area to play. I think it was a great area to come up in. I think it was a great school system that they had going on at the time and in the sports standpoint has always been good there in Pontiac. I think they have taken some step back over the years, but hey, you know, things happen, you know, throughout everybody’s years. So, Campy, you grew up in a family of 10 kids.

Seven boys, three of them actually played in the NBA. Yes. state finals in 70, 71, 72, 78. What was it like being one of the Russell brothers? Well, for the most part, those three brothers you’re talking about now is me, my older brother, who was Frank Russell, and then Walker Russell.

Those are who we’re talking about as you know. But you said how was it for me growing up there? I would think there’s always a game. There’s always some good competition. well, it was more competition on the outside than it was inside, you know, cuz generally we played with each other on the same team with each other generally.

Even though Walker was a lot younger than we were, but I think it really helped Walker mature. It helped Walker becomes much much better player himself. And Frank was always the probably the better player than everybody completely, you know, overall. And I think for me, I think I became more of an overall player because at the time I was 67, 68, and I was playing center, but at the same time, I can dribble the ball, pass the ball, shoot the ball, run the floor, do all that. I think that helped me.

And the person that helped me develop myself in my view was Dave Bing. I spent along with Walker, I spent my from the seventh grade until my fourth year in the league going to his basketball camp up in in the Poconos in Pennsylvania because not only did they help me and Walker, but we had an opportunity to help other kid that was coming coming along too through that camp because it allowed us to show the fundamentals help them understand how to play the game the right way and that for me helped me and my family Walker Frank them develop their own games. so for again when I look back at this thing it was just it was tough to play against each other in our family cuz my brother Konis he was probably the better shooter than all of us you know but he never played basketball.

he just played in the in the in the rec centers and that type of thing. But it it was just a great time for all three of us to have that opportunity to play in the NBA. You know, that doesn’t happen very often. But I tell you this that and you know this, Tim, that you have to put in the work, you know, and you have to be consistent in what you do as well. I think we all learned a lot from Dave Bing for sure.

And it’s hard to imagine you weren’t the best shooting brother in your family. In 1982, you led the entire NBA in three-point shooting. H how would your game translate to the NBA today? I feel like my game at being 67, 68, whatever that is, can translate in any time. You mentioned the thing about I thought you was going to say my shooting.

I thought my shooting was the weakest part of my game. Oh, you had that killer fall away jump shot camp you but I felt like it was the I felt like it was the weakest part of my game though. All right. You know, and the reason I’m only saying that to the degree of I thought you was going to say, Campy, you won the three-point percentages in 82 or 80 something. But anyway, what happened then was this.

I’m sitting at home. I get a call from the NBA and they says, “Campy, you just won the three-point shooting event for the year.” And I said, “Well, how did that happen?” And he says, “Well, you know, you shot 50% or 50 something% from the three from the three-point line.” And I said, “Well, how did that happen?” You know, and and then when I look back on it, he says, “Well, you only took 50 for the whole season and you just happened to make 25 of them.” And that’s what I said. I said I said I can’t believe I won it because I didn’t take that many of them. three-point shooting was not a was not a thing at that particular time. not as much as it is right now.

but it was it was really a surprise that I even wanted to thank Tim. I that was one of the biggest surprises I ever had. I want to I want to u point out how excited I was when you made the 1979 All-Star game. it was in Pontiac and the fact that you had a chance to play in front of your family and your friends. I also think it’s important to acknowledge did you know that only seven Michigan basketball players in history have played an All-Star game and you’re one of them?

Well, well, I think that’s a that’s a good thing and I I’m proud of that as well. Who who really stood out to you in that game? Who like where you said, “Wow, he’s my teammate.” what jumps out at you about that experience? Well, on the East at that time, I believe it was Maravich. And for some reason, Pete Maravichh and I had a really good relationship.

and I’ve always had a lot of respect for Pete. You know, a lot of people were like, you know, really wishy-washy about him, but I got to know him. I got to know the kind of guy he was. I like I got to know the heart that he had. So, when I think about that All-Star game that year, Pete was a big part of it because for some reason we hung out together that whole weekend.

Wow. And it was just it was just it was just a thrill for me because of who he was, you know. But when you look at our lineup though, they had Dr. J was on on there. He was there.

Moses was on was on there. I mean, it was just it was just Elvin Hayes. It was just a bunch of guys that I was like, “How did I get here?” You know, how did I get here? so, as we wind down, as you reflect upon your career, what are you most proud of? The thing I’m most proud of is one it turned out to be the one of the very most proud of is this that when I first got drafted by the Cavaliers, I thought that was the worst thing ever happened to me.

Really, I did because it was a team that just started. I think it was might have been in the league like three years. So here I’m going to a start basically a startup team and but I think when I look forward fast forward over these many years being drafted by the Cavaliers playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers being a part of the fabric of Cleveland and being the part the fabric of the organization it turned out to be the best thing ever happened to me. I am very proud of the fact that now now that I that now that I know that that turned out to be the best thing that happened to me by coming to Cleveland. All right, Campy, we’re in the home stretch here.

I’ve got some quick hitter type questions. short questions with short answers. What’s the most points you ever scored in a game at any level? I’ll say 41. Where was that at?

It was here in the NBA. Wow. It was against Phoenix Suns. It’s a big name. Here in Cleveland.

Yep. who’s the greatest NBA player you ever faced? Wow. That I ever faced, I’ll tell you what, Bernard King, you know, just explosive, quick, can score the basketball, just a tough competitor. I would say Bernard King.

What about the toughest guy that you had to face while you were at Michigan? H I think when I was a sophomore, it might have been Nick Weatherspoon because that was the first time I had ever saw him. And he really took me to school that day. And from that time on, every time I saw him in the league, I would just give it to him. But that night when he was I think he might have been a junior or something about that time, he really gave it to me that day.

When you think about your road trips in the Big Ten, what’s the toughest venue to play at in the Big Ten? probably was IU, you know, Indiana because of just how boisterous they were, how committed they were. you know, to the team and Bobby Knight stirred the fire big time every time you went into that building. but I would say Indiana. How many points did you score in the NBA All-Star game?

Oh my goodness. I have no idea. [laughter] It might have been It might have been I only think it was seven or I have no idea. Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met? Wow.

Gee, that is so broad. Yeah, it is. It really is. The guy that I would think it would be and because of who he is, it’s a guy named John Carlos who was in the Olympics and I met him some 20 years ago now and we have become good friends, but I would say John Carlos. Camp, you went to Michigan.

If not Michigan, where would you have gone? I wasn’t leaving the state of Michigan no matter what. I had Yeah, I So it was it was just going to be Michigan only. The thing that turned the table was really real simple. We went up to Michigan State cuz that’s where I was almost going to go.

We went there and we was at this I guess icebreaker is what they call them and it was so many girls there that I said you know something camp you don’t have no business going to school up here. So that was the icebreaker that’s what turned the entire table for me. I said I’m not going up there. I’m going to Ann Arbor. And that’s what sealed the deal for me.

Oh, what a great answer that is. I love it. final question. I think of you as a legend. I looked up to you when I was in high school with your great work in Pontiac.

when I was a rookie, I came and found you when when we were playing in Cleveland. I wanted to meet you and I’ll always remember that. all the things you did at Michigan, your career in the NBA, what out of all those things, what makes you really proud of what you accomplished. I think the fact that to be honest with you, to think that I have accomplished a lot of things in during this lifetime, I think one of the things that helped me succeed or one person that helped me succeed, I would say would be Dave Bing. I got to know him when I was in the seventh grade and he exposed me to a lot of things over my lifetime even even right now at at 74 years old.

you know, he’s been I’m going to say a lifesaver for me. That’s what I’ll say. You know, because he exposed me to so much that helped me grow in a lot of different ways. and you know he just became the guy that I love, a guy that helped me become the person that I am. He he truly helped me do that.

Yeah, I would say Dave Bing Campy. I I want to thank you for being such a good person and a role model and a good goblue guy. I just want to thank you again for joining us on the podcast. Well, Tim, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. I will look forward to you playing golf with us because I want to see how long you hit the ball because I know you hit it a long way now.

Yeah, the ball goes a long way [laughter] to be fair ways over, but it does go a long way. Well, that’s the beauty of golf. You never know what you may get. Yeah. Thanks, Campy.

Go blue. Thank you, Tim. Go blue as well. Talk to you. Take care.

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