Lezlie Sterling Sacramento Bee file
Sacramento State cheerleaders do a stunt during a time-out at a women’s basketball game in the Hornets Nest gym in 2008. For years, there has been talk of renovating the small, outdated gym or building an on-campus arena.
Never mind the facilities, the coach says. Soak in the bigger picture.
Embrace the opportunity to compete on a scholarship, to pursue a Big Sky Conference championship, to reach the NCAA Tournament, to be a shark in the open seas. That’s the pitch for Mark Campbell, the first-year coach for the Sacramento State women’s basketball program when he talks to recruits, or when asked about the Hornets’ appeal. He has an impressive coaching resume and booms of good cheer. He is a 41-year-old visionary, an old soul in a young person’s game who sees grand things on the horizon.
Optimism is key here, and Campbell is no windbag. He’s a proven product, genuine. It’s clear in his words and actions this season and past campaigns. He had his fingerprints all over the dramatic rise from obscurity to prominence as an assistant and relentless recruiter at Oregon State and Oregon, where winning became the norm.
So why take on the Sac State job? Because the upside was too tempting to pass up. Yeah, yeah. Back to the facilities. How can you expect to win the Indy 500 with a 1977 Chevy Nova that needs a running start to get going? Well, roll the windows down and give it a drive, and beware the speed bumps.
Yes, the Sac State gym is on par with any local high school venue, and the overall basketball facilities are the poorest of any program at the Division I level in the country. If there are deep-pocketed donors who want to help change that, Campbell and Sac State athletic director Mark Orr will take that call or email. Donors were key in boosting the facilities at Oregon and Oregon State. Same with decades-long rival UC Davis. A new arena at Sac State is a priority, certainly, but it’s not as easy as backing up a cement truck and unloading a crew armed with shovels and hard hats.
What Campbell can control is the here and now, and right now, he’s coaching the most-improved women’s team in the land. Sac State limped home at 3-24 a year ago. The program’s last winning season was in 2014-15 at 18-15. Since moving up to the Division I ranks 30 years ago, the Hornets have produced just five winners. Too often, the engine fell out during the season. Campbell arrived like a blast of fresh air.
The Hornets are 14-13 now, playing together and inspired. They won 9 of 10 games before hitting a lurch last week. Sac State will get into the Big Sky Tournament, and the winner there bounds into the NCAA Tournament fun. The Hornets do not lack effort.
“These girls are giving us everything they have, and it takes time,” Campbell said after a tough loss Saturday to defending Big Sky champion Idaho State, a team the Hornets beat last month in Pocatello. “We’ll be a very dangerous team in the Big Sky.”
A native of Washington state, Campbell played college basketball at Cal Poly and Hawaii. He coached a bit with the men, including as an assistant at Saint Mary’s College in the Bay Area, one of the nation’s top mid-major monsters. But he was drawn to the women’s game and how women like to be coached and how they really don’t care about how many seats a gym has. Men do. Big difference.
Sac State’s cozy home digs are called “The Nest.” It can get loud and raucous when the place is full. The rims are still 10 feet high, just like any splashy venue, and a full scholarship carries weight anywhere. Sac State started its women’s program in 1965 and enjoyed winning seasons at Division II in the 1970s, winning their last one in 1977. Ground Zero was going 0-27 in 2002 and then 1-27 in 2004.
You cannot talk about the Hornets without getting to the lack of facilities, and that’s always a fair argument in recruiting. Until it becomes moot, and that’s where Campbell is.
“I don’t buy the lack of facilities,” Campbell said. “And it’s not a talent issue here. I’ll get talent. We are laying a foundation and we will start stacking. We want to find the right kids and we will continue to find the right kids. Facilities eliminate people who only want the superficial. This can be a gold mine.”
Campbell is correct. The recruiting base for Sac State is Northern California, and that base is more talent-rich than what any non-California Big Sky program can offer.
“We’re within a two-hour drive of a great talent base, including Sacramento,” Campbell said.
Last week, a national recruit sat in the seats to soak in the game. It was Madison Butcher, a 5-foot-10 guard who competes like a linebacker protecting the goal line. The Del Oro High School star from Placer County is an All-Metro star who has signed on with the Hornets.
“She’s taking a leap of faith with us, and it’ll pay off,” Campbell said.
The NCAA transfer portal has boosted the Hornets this season. Campbell found a gem there in Lianna Tillman, a 5-foot-9 guard who can dribble, drive, dish and score. The senior from Stockton is a graduate transfer from Pacific, where she played in 90 games and started all 22 her final season. Tillman leads the Big Sky in scoring at 20.7 a game and she leads the conference in assists at 6.4. She is one of two players in the D-I field averaging those totals.
Isnelle Natabou is a 6-5 freshman post from the Czek Republic who played a season at Iowa Western Community College. She is averaging 14.2 points and a Big Sky leading 11.8 rebounds. Junior guard Jordan Olivares and 6-2 freshman guard Katie Peneueta have been solid and sometimes superb.
Then there’s Summer Menke, the senior guard from Arizona who scores 12.0 points and pulls down 6.1 rebounds and pours every ounce into this. She is the veteran of the group, a four-year anchor who tasted bits of success but agonized over a great deal more losses than victories.
“It’s the first time we’re really been in the fight,” Menke said. “It got hard losing. It takes a toll. We’re excited about this season. We’ve come a long way. I’m excited to see what Coach Campbell can do here. I can’t imagine how good they can be.”
Said Campbell of Menke, “She’s the backbone here. Every single night, she brings it. That’s something you can’t teach.”
Orr, the Sac State AD, met Campbell when they both worked at Saint Mary’s. Of the 100 or so candidates that applied for this gig, Orr and Sac State president Robert S. Nelsen were delighted to land Campbell.
“Coach Campbell is good, really, really good,” Orr said. “We’re thrilled to have him. He’s genuine, a good person. He wanted to coach women’s basketball. Amazing what he’s done this first year. You just don’t expect that kind of improvement but he’s not surprised.”
Campbell chose the women’s route despite offers some 10 years ago to coach men. That he’s married to a former college basketball point guard doesn’t hurt. The former Amy Smith of Oregon City roots played at Vanderbilt. The Campbell’s have two more girls players on their family roster in young daughters Maley and Makay.
“I was very patient in what job I wanted, and this fits,” Campbell said. “This isn’t even the same team we had earlier this season. We’ve improved so much. It’s like trying to put together a puzzle. It takes time, and I’m all in. This is what I want to do. I’m all about the journey.”
Joe Davidson: 916-321-1280, @SacBee_JoeD