How did Fresno State win three in a row? For starters, Jordan Campbell tapped the brakes

Jordan Campbell can laugh about it now, and did when his last play of the 2019-20 men’s basketball season came up. It was against Colorado State, in February.

The Fresno State guard had pulled a long rebound off a missed three and took off up the floor, moving as he had from the second he hit the floor as a mid-year transfer – way too fast. Just past midcourt, Campbell lost the basketball and then his balance trying to regain his dribble.

“I was thinking, ‘Push it and try to create for myself or one of my teammates,’ but, shoot, the ball came up, hit me in the face,” Campbell said, chuckling. “I tried to retrieve the ball after and ran into a brick wall.”

Campbell collided with the Rams’ David Roddy, who is 6-foot-5 and a solid 250-plus pounds and had circled back to defend the rim. Campbell hit the Save Mart Center floor as hard as he had run into the Colorado State forward.

Roddy was credited with a steal, Campbell with a turnover and an offensive foul and he came away from the collision with a concussion and did not play the rest of the season.

But that play now only highlights how Campbell has started to thrive through COVID-19 and the impact that it has had on the Bulldogs’ program, which did not get any summer workouts, came back to campus late and has had to pause three times following a positive coronavirus test within the program or contact tracing protocols.

The Bulldogs head to Nevada for Mountain West Conference games on Friday and Sunday on a three-game winning streak, with Campbell coming off the bench and averaging 11.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocked shots over that stretch.

A career stretch for Campbell

He has hit 14 of 26 shots (53.8%) and has just one turnover in 67 minutes.

“It’s on him,” coach Justin Hutson said. “It just took some and it’s going to continue to take time, but he has taken a huge step forward and I don’t expect him to go back. I expect him to get better from here.

“He needed game experience and practice experience and he hasn’t had a lot of that in the time that he has been here. That’s just our team. He didn’t have spring workouts where you play 3 on 3 or 2 on 2 and slow down. He didn’t have summer workouts where he played 3 on 3 or 2 on 2.”

With the late start and the quarantines, Fresno State has missed more than 50 days and had to postpone five non-conference games. But the 6-foot-4 guard almost in an instant started to take advantage of limited opportunities and create larger ones by defending, rebounding and most importantly taking much better care of the basketball at the offensive end.

Hutson had told the Bulldogs they would start there.

“Jordan wasn’t part of that equation at first,” Hutson said. “But now it’s time and he’s going to get his opportunity because of how other guys were playing and he is taking advantage of it. It’s a testament to him. He had to earn it. He earned it, and now let’s see what he can do with it.”

Constant reminders to tap the brakes played into that, as well. Last season, Campbell had more turnovers per 40 minutes (4.2) and per 100 possessions (6.4) than any of the Bulldogs.

Campbell’s progress measured in minutes on floor

He would rush into poor shots, hitting only 37.1% inside the 3-point line.

“Everybody in my circle was telling me that, for sure,” said Campbell, who transferred to Fresno State from Oregon State. “I talked to one of our coaches about that. I was just relying on my athleticism, my speed and my ability to jump instead of actually being skilled and patient and knowing when to be aggressive and when not to.

“There’s a level of confidence to know that I can make those plays and that I can handle the ball and be able to do stuff like that. The confidence level is a little higher. I feel like last year, I had a glimpse of what I could do. Some of the shots I missed last year, I feel like they’re the same looks I’m getting this year. I just have the confidence to knock them down.”

But a timeline of his minutes this season is Exhibit A in that progress – Campbell scored 10 points with five rebounds but also three turnovers in the opener against NAIA William Jessup, and his minutes went from 21 to six to five and to eight before trending up again.

“It feels like now he has a good rhythm and is on the right track as far as his pace of play and how he’s seeing the floor,” associate head coach Tarvish Felton said.

“He has always had the physical ability and has always been a play hard guy. We just had to channel that and get him going in the right direction and put him in the best situations we can put him in and you have to give Jordan a lot of credit. He stuck with it, and that’s a credit to his character and his determination.”

And, as the Bulldogs basically practice in games and Hutson continues to work through backcourt options revolving around 7-foot forward Orlando Robinson, Campbell is taking on a larger role.

“We don’t know exactly what offense we’re going to run yet,” Hutson said. “Are we going to be four-out? Are we going to be three-out? We don’t know. But you have to play your game and defend, rebound and take care of the ball and then you’ll get more time.

“That’s what he’s starting to do and now he’s going to get more comfortable at the offensive end. He had to decide that, but I don’t expect him to go back. I expect him to get better from here.”

Up next for the Bulldogs

FRESNO STATE AT NEVADA

Where and when: Lawlor Events Center; Friday, 8 p.m.

TV/Radio: FS1/ESPN940AM

Records: Bulldogs 5-3, 3-3 in the MW; Nevada 8-5, 3-3

Series: Nevada leads 58-44

Coaches: Justin Hutson (39-31, in third season); Steve Alford (27-17, in second season; 536-286 overall)

On Nevada: The Wolf Pack in conference play has swept a series against 0-6 New Mexico, split a series with 1-5 Air Force and was swept by 3-1 San Diego State. Nevada and Boise State have played 13 games, most in the conference. The Wolf Pack is ranked eighth in the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 70.9 points per game. Grant Sherfield is leading Nevada and fourth in the conference in scoring at 17.8 points per game.