After three and a half years as a walk-on, all the hard work and loyalty sprinkled throughout the ups and downs of Galen Campbell’s career had finally paid off.
As Tennessee head coach Donnie Tyndall explained to him that he was being given the Volunteers only remaining scholarship during a film session Friday night, the redshirt junior guard was left speechless in a state of shock.
“I just kind of looked at him (Tyndall) like ‘Are you serious?,'” Campbell said. “It’s an honor and a blessing, and it’s definitely a dream come true.”
Following the departure of forward Dominic Woodson, who decided to transfer from the university on Dec. 12, 2014, the Vols were left with a vacant scholarship for the spring semester.
For Tyndall, it provided the perfect opportunity to reward Campbell for all of his contributions to the program over the course of his career.
“Galen is a great kid,” Tyndall said. “He’s been committed to the program for three and a half years. He never gripes or complains about anything. When he talks in our locker room, our guys respect him even though he doesn’t get to play a whole lot.
“I’ve just enjoyed being around him … That’s what college athletics is about. Those opportunities don’t always present themselves to help a guy like that, but when they are there and you can reward a guy for his hard work, it’s pretty cool.”
The road to become a scholarship athlete, though, hasn’t always been an easy one.
Campbell turned down offers from mid-majors Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State upon his graduation from Fulton High School to join the Vols as an invited walk-on prior to the 2011-12 season.
A year later, he was cut from the team when the athletic department shrank the number of walk-ons on the team from five to two.
But then-head coach Cuonzo Martin asked the Knoxville native to stick around as a practice player and rejoin as a walk-on for the 2013-14 season.
“It’s definitely been rough,” Campbell said on Monday. “I came from my freshman year, being basically cut from the team, and I stayed. And I could’ve went to some decent JUCOs, but there was something about the University of Tennessee that I wanted to stay.”
So he did.
Campbell played in eight games last year, scoring only five points, three of which came on an and-1 during the Vols’ Sweet 16 run in the second round of the NCAA tournament against UMass.
“It was a dream,” said Campbell during Tennessee Media Day on Oct. 16. “I got to go in at the very end versus Iowa, but we were only in for a little bit, but that was a dream to actually check into an NCAA tournament game. But then against UMass, we actually got to run some plays and have some offensive possessions, so in my head I was thinking, ‘If I get this ball, I got to get one up,’ and I got an and-1.”
Even with a year of eligibility remaining after this season, Campbell said that he won’t return to the team next year, but instead, plans to be a graduate assistant for the Vols.
Ultimately, Campbell intends to coach at the college level, using what he’s learned on the bench next to Martin and Tyndall to help him succeed.
“Being with two good coaching staffs — first under Coach Martin and then under Coach Tyndall — I’ve learned so much about basketball,” Campbell said. “It’s just amazing. I feel like I will do well in that career and I just can’t wait. I’m excited for it.”
