An ode to Tyger Campbell, the perfect college point guard
I became a UCLA basketball fan in 2016 right before Lonzo Ball left for the draft, three players were arrested in China (including Lonzo’s brother, Liangelo) and Steve Alford was fired after losing brutally to Belmont and Liberty (though these losses are not terrible in hindsight, the way we lost was still horrible). Being a UCLA basketball fan in recent years has been complicated: a string of short-lived coaches, seasons with incredible highs and incredible lows, confusion over why so many ex-UCLA players are great in the NBA but were mediocre in college, and nobody feels bad for you because, even after all this, we still have the most NCAA titles.
This season started out with high expectations. UCLA was projected in the Top 25 at the start of the season, with standout senior Chris Smith and reigning PAC-12 Coach of the Year Mick Cronin. But after Chris Smith and Jalen Hill went down with injuries, and after a string of heartbreaking losses to USC, all hope seemed lost. Once UCLA drew Michigan State in the play-in game for the NCAA tournament, it looked like the Bruins would end their season without making the tournament. But we underestimated the Bruins, and forgot all the reasons why this team was capable of making it to the Final Four: we forgot about Coach of the Year Mick Cronin, we forgot about the offensive talents of Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang, and, most importantly to me, we forgot about Tyger Campbell.
Though there are several differences between college basketball and the NBA (style of play, the talent of the players, the ridiculous NCAA charge rule), perhaps the one that matters most is the format that determines the championship: the NCAA tournament vs. the NBA playoffs. In the NBA, seven-game series determine which team advances, and it’s rare that the worse team wins the series and the better team loses, barring injuries a la Golden State Warriors in 2019 (not that the Toronto Raptors were undeserving champions by any means). In college basketball, the best team almost never wins. An undefeated team hasn’t won the NCAA tournament since Indiana in 1976. Single game series are susceptible to all kinds of flukes. Extremely hot shooting can break down the impenetrable pack-line defense in just a few minutes (sorry Virginia), one lucky shot can send the higher seed home (sorry UNC), and good defense can shut down anyone regardless of talent (sorry Duke). This format puts an extreme amount of pressure on every game, and on every team trying to win and advance. The teams that make it to the end are those that are able to minimize their own mistakes and capitalize of their opponent’s, finding a winning combination of skill and luck. Though luck is definitely a factor, there are important skills, beyond raw talent, that are vital to win a championship. As teams progress through the tournament, they inevitably they find themselves in a close game, and the team that wins has one, intangible quality that propels them to the top: stability. There are some teams that, regardless of the situation, remain calm and make smart plays under pressure. And then there are some teams that freeze up, taking bad isolation shots and committing unnecessary turnovers, and fall apart in a matter of seconds. This stability is critical to make it to the Final Four, and the teams’ point guards are often the ones responsible for setting that tone.
Tyger Campbell’s greatest strength was his ability to create stability: he was able to calm down his teammates, make smart passes and slow down the pace of the game. Instead of rushing up and down the court, taking unnecessarily bad shots during a close game, Campbell maintained his composure and played quality basketball regardless of the score. Mick Cronin trusted him immensely: Tyger Campbell was 4th in the PAC-12 and 7th in the NCAA for total minutes played (1077). He isn’t the flashiest player, often outshined by tournament phenom Johnny Juzang and offensive powerhouse Jaime Jaquez Jr. In the 2020–2021 season, Campbell averaged 10.4 points per game, 42.9% field goal percentage (with 45.9% effective FG%), and a 15.2 PER (which, according to the rubric from John Hollinger, places him as a “slightly above-average player”). The brightest spot of his offensive game is his assists. He is able to assess the defense in the half-court, run plays and make efficient passes. Campbell averaged 5.4 assists/game in 2020–2021, making him the assists leader for UCLA and 3rd in assists/game in the PAC-12. He was also 2nd in the PAC-12 and 7th in the NCAA for total assists (172). In addition to assists, he averaged 1.1 steals per game in 2020–2021, which helped create more fast-break opportunities for UCLA. Though defense was UCLA’s strongest weapon (thanks Mick Cronin), Campbell was the reason the offense was able to capitalize off the mistakes that opponents made because of good UCLA defense.
Tyger Campbell’s passing skill is not the only reason why he was the secret sauce to UCLA’s success: not only was he able to make great passes to teammates, but he also kept the ball in UCLA’s possession without committing turnovers. Sometimes, turnovers are the inevitable result of an extremely fast-paced, high-powered offense, such as the 2015–2019 Warriors offense. However, UCLA, and basically every other basketball team in the world, are not the Warriors. Most of the time, turnovers are a death sentence in a tight game. One of the hallmark traits of a nervous, uncoordinated basketball team is a high number of turnovers. In this year’s tournament, 2-seed Ohio State had 16 turnovers in their first-round loss to 15-seed Oral Roberts, and Michigan had 14 turnovers against UCLA in the Elite Eight. During all of UCLA’s games, especially the close games, I always felt most confident when the ball was in Tyger Campbell’s hands, because I trusted him to keep the ball without committing a costly turnover. Tyger Campbell averages only 1.8 turnovers a game and committed two or fewer turnovers per game during the entire NCAA tournament. Despite the high-pressure situations, Campbell was able to stabilize the team and keep the ball in UCLA’s hands, preventing any potential momentum crushing fast-break points from their opponents.
Tyger Campbell is the player you want on the floor in a close game, and UCLA had several close games this season and in the tournament. If a team is making a run in the tournament, at some point they will find themselves in a tight game, where a loss means not just the end to the season, but the last time the seniors will ever play for their school and the last time this team will ever compete together. The weight of that realization can create an overwhelming sense of pressure. A great point guard, however, can lift that pressure, stabilizing their team and keeping them locked in the moment. Many great moments in college basketball history are made from the point guards: Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono sets up Kris Jenkins in the 2016 title game, and Virginia’s Kihei Clark throws a perfect pass right into Mamadi Diakite’s hands in the 2019 Elite Eight game. While Tyger Campbell didn’t have one of those defining moments, his legacy will be the way he led UCLA to unexpected success in what was the most exciting experience I’ve ever had as a UCLA fan.
