Jan. 31, 2003

by Jim Carberry

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - For most basketball players, a "pressure situation" is shooting free throws in an enemy gym or playing in a national semifinal game as a sophomore or maybe guarding an All-American who averages 20 points a game.

Not for Nehemiah Campbell.

The Western Washington University senior has done all of the above, and he knows they don't compare to other tough spots he has been in.

Like having someone come up to him with a pistol at a pickup game.

"I was just playing, and a guy came up, pulled out a gun and shot the guy standing next to me," said Campbell with a shrug. "That's just where I came from. A gun shot doesn't freak me out."

Gun shots are a way of life where Campbell comes from - the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is one of the most dangerous places a young man can grow up in, where crime, unemployment, drugs and gangs make even day-to-day living a difficult task.

As Campbell said, "A lot of people I know are in jail, dead or having babies."

Yet Campbell proved he was not like most of the people he grew up with.

For one, he was a talented basketball player, being named all-City after averaging 17 points a game as a senior and helping Washington High School go to the city playoffs.

But other players with as much talent have not escaped the life - and death - of L.A.

"In L.A., there's quite a few players as good as Nehemiah who want to move away," said Western assistant coach Tony Dominguez, who recruited Campbell. "But there's not many with Nehemiah's intelligence. That area is high intensity with drugs and gangs. But he wasn't a part of that. He is a rarity."

Campbell's talent and intelligence were matched by his desire. Anyone who has watched him play at Carver Gym the past four years could see that.

The 6-foot-4 forward made his mark as a freshman, playing in every game mainly on the strength of his defense. Ever since, his quickness, strength and, most importantly, his willpower have made him the team's defensive stopper.

"I hate it when people score on me," he said. "I take it personally. I get mad even when my guy scores and I'm on the bench. Defense is all desire and willingness to put out your best. I'll do anything for the team."

It didn't take long for Western head coach Brad Jackson to notice that unselfish commitment to making the Vikings better.

"Nehemiah is solid all the time, but he really rises to the occasion and accepts the challenge," said Jackson. "His tenacity is what sets him apart. We lean on him for his fire."

His defensive prowess and intensity make it easy to overlook the other parts of his game. Although he only averages 8.1 points a game, he is third on the team in 3-pointers made and averages 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game.

"He's a very complete player," said Jackson. "He's a good offensive player, who makes good decisions and good passes. He's also got a good work ethic and an effervescent personality. He gets a lot of respect from his teammates. Looking back at his four years, we're really pleased with what he's accomplished."

Not surprisingly, the accomplishments have not come easily.

First there was getting out of the 'hood.

Although he played basketball all his life, Campbell grew up with a father and mother who stressed education, not athletics, as the way to better himself. "Growing up in that area, athletics and academics were the only way out," said Campbell. "But they (his parents) didn't care if I played basketball at all. They just wanted me to go to college."

The youngest of three children, Campbell stayed out of the trouble some of his friends got in. In fact, it was his friends who wanted to see him succeed. "Everybody in our neighborhood knew I was a basketball player," he said. "They wanted me to get out."

Unfortunately, avoiding trouble was not easy. Gangs and guns were common place. Murders in Whatcom County are page one material; in Los Angeles they are statistics.

"L.A. has the highest crime rate in the nation," said Campbell. "I remember seeing that in two weeks, 30 people were killed. It's just like what you see in the movies. When we heard a gun shot, we'd just go on playing."

Campbell remembered playing at rival Crenshaw and Dorsey high schools, where his team needed a police escort to get into and out of the gyms safely. "I liked going there," said Campbell. "It was dangerous, but we would be laughing on the bus. It really desensitizes you."

Yet even Campbell was hit hard by one shooting. One of his best friends and high school teammates, Rodney Anderson, a player at Cal State-Fullerton, came back to the neighborhood to visit his parents and was caught in a drive-by and shot three times. Paralyzed from the chest down, his basketball career was over.

"He's still in school," said Campbell. "But it changed his life. It changed my life."

It was that lifestyle, where even walking down the street at the wrong time could be fatal, that Campbell was intent on leaving behind. When he had his chance to shine in an all-star game after his senior season, he came through again.

Dominguez, who does much of Western's recruiting, vividly remembered the game.

"The first game I watched him play, I think he had 10 dunks," said Dominguez. "We got really excited about him. Then we found out he wasn't being recruited much, that he was focused academically and he didn't want to have anything to do with that gangster lifestyle."

One trip to Bellingham was all Campbell needed to see. The Vikings got their man. And the man got the future he wanted.

"I knew what I was getting into," said Campbell of the move to Bellingham. "It's very different than where I came from. My neighborhood was all minorities. And the weather - it rains all the time here," he said with a laugh.

Still, he hasn't regretted the move.

Although he never was the "star," he was an important reserve his first two seasons, helping the Vikings reach the NCAA Division II Final four his sophomore year. Last season he started half the games. This year, he was named one of the team's co-captains and, after coming back from an eight-game suspension, he has started every game for a team battling for a playoff berth.

Just as importantly, he is on track to graduate on schedule and is hoping to use his degree to possibly work with youngsters in - you guessed it - his old neighborhood. Like his biblical namesake, Nehemiah is willing to face danger in order to rebuild his home.

"When I was younger, there were people who helped me out," he said. "I want to do something positive, to give something back.

"You never forget where you came from," Campbell said. "You work to get out of the 'hood. It's negative, but I've learned a lot from being there. It builds strong character."

Dominguez still marvels at the young man who made the big move from the big city.

"Nehemiah is a special personality," said Dominguez. "He's a real sensitive man with a great heart."

And now, as he prepares to finish his career at Western, what would Campbell like to be remembered for? The four letters? The key steals? The big 3-pointers? The captaincy?

"I'd like to be remembered as a person that did his best - even in tough situations."

Consider it done.