"Tarik has been a very good addition to the team," sophomore James White says. "He's come in and taken a vocal role as a leader on the team. He comes in and works hard."
Head Coach Frank Sullivan also believes that Campbell's year off has been beneficial.
"Tarik is a very determined person," Sullivan says. "He's come back after a year of being out of Harvard and is determinedto do well academically and on the basketball court."
And, of course, he never backs down from a challenge. Stop Vermont's Eddie Benton, who averages 20 points per game and shoots over 50 percent from long range? No sweat--mentally, at least.
"I take facing a top player at my position personally. I adjust and take the challenge and never back down," Campbell says.
Harvard lost that game, 73-65, but Campbell held Benton to 15 points and harassed him into committing five turnovers while scoring 12 points of his own.
Scoring might have been the weakest point of Campbell's game (besides posting up, that is--the Leverett junior is just 5' 10", 155 pounds), but that was just another challenge for him. With defenses keying on team captain and league-leading scorer Tyler Rullman, Campbell poured in 18 points while dishing out six assists (another 12 points, really) against Rhode Island at the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, Ca., over winter break.
"I think I played really well out in California, especially against Rhode Island because they were a top team," Campbell says.
Not so far down the coast from Santa Clara is the Great Western Forum, where Magic Johnson used to dominate the NBA with unbelievable passing and irreplacable leadership which only a point guard can truly appreciate.
Like almost every other point guard who has grown up in the last 10 years, Magic became Campbell's hero when he led Michigan State to the national title in 1979.
"Magic came into the league and improved every year," Campbell says. "He continued to work on his game and became a leader. Being a point guard and seeing another point guard with that type of passing is inspirational," Campbell says.
Improvement every year on his passing, scoring...even rebounding. That's what Campbell wants. Always, the challenge is to be better.
Except. There's one memory that he doesn't want to improve. You see, his twin brother Gary plays for Dartmouth.
"My favorite college memory was the time I played against my brother my freshman year," Campbell said. "We had always played on the same team at home, so playing against each other was hard."
Difficult, yes, but not as hard as surviving the Harlem courts.