This is not say that Campbell is an android bent on winning and nothing else. As he said, he leaves his testiness on the court.

This writer holds two distinct off-the-court impressions of Campbell.

The first concerns his support of women's athletics at Harvard. Campbell is an outspoken proponent of gender equity in college sports.

"It's not fair if [women and men] do the same amount of work but get different treatment," he once said. "All athletes should be treated equally if they show that they're serious about their sport."

The second impression came after the Dartmouth road game last season, when a young family, obviously previously acquainted with Campbell, approached the player.

The family's young girl, a bouncy tyke, raced up to Campbell, plainly unaware that her hero's team had just suffered another stinging loss, and smiled brightly.

Campbell could have waved the child off, or he could have been brusque in his response. But he wasn't. His steely game face was gone.

Instead, he quickly put his own thoughts behind him, looked up at the girl and smiled back. "Come here, honey," he said softly. "Gimme a hug."

Rullman was right. Tarik Campbell was definitely a credit to this basketball team.