Mat Campbell
Encyclopedia
Mat Campbell is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player, currently playing for the Wollongong Hawks
Wollongong Hawks
The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010...

 as captain and shooting guard
Shooting guard
The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...

 in the National Basketball League
National Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....

 in Australia.

Club career

Campbell began his career with the Illawarra Hawks in 1996 and has stayed with the club for fifteen years. He made his debut in April against the Brisbane Bullets
Brisbane Bullets
The Brisbane Bullets were, until 2008, a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets were one of only two teams that survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the only surviving team is now the Wollongong Hawks. The team played in Midnight Navy...

 at the "Snakepit" in Gwynneville, New South Wales
Gwynneville, New South Wales
Gwynneville is an inner city suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia located approximately 2 km north west of the city centre.It was originally named Gwynne Ville after the Gwynne family who owned the property. It was sold it two large lots, both of which were subdivided...

, scoring five points. In the Hawks final game at this venue against Perth
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...

 in June 1998, he was their leading scorer with 27 points.

Campbell has a career high of 36 points, which was scored against the Townsville Crocodiles
Townsville Crocodiles
The Townsville Crocodiles are a professional Australian basketball team based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in the National Basketball League...

 at The Swamp
Townsville Entertainment Centre
Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre is an indoor sports arena, located in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The capacity of the arena is 5,257 and was built in 1993....

 in Townsville
Townsville, Queensland
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...

 on December 11, 2005. In this game Campbell also scored a career high of nine from fourteen three-point goals. Campbell also has a career of nine assists and ten rebounds, which he has made twice. He has captained the Hawks since 2000 and is the Hawks All-time leader in appearances for the club.

Mat Campbell led the "Save the Hawks" Campaign in February 2009 to ensure Wollongong's further participation in the NBL. When it was generally accepted there would no longer be a future for the Hawks in the national competition, Mat managed to find a backer for the 2009-10 season, keeping the Hawks in the premiere basketball competition of Australia. Save the Hawks raised the required amount to keep them alive, including $230,000 from foundation members (each providing $5,000) and a $1 million guarantee by Gujarat NRE. The new not for profit organisation also mananged to gain support of Australian Health Management as naming rights sponsor.

International career

Campbell was apart of the Australian U-23's 1996 Squad.

He was also a member of the Boomers squad in 2002 during their tours of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and again in 2004.

Honours

With Wollongong Hawks
Wollongong Hawks
The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010...

:
2000-01 NBL Championship 2004-05 NBL Runner's Up 2009-10 NBL Runner's Up

Personal Honours
  • Captain of Wollongong Hawks
    Wollongong Hawks
    The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010...

     since 2000
  • All-time leader in Appearances for Wollongong Hawks
    Wollongong Hawks
    The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010...

  • Retired Number (#32) at the Wollongong Hawks
    Wollongong Hawks
    The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010...


External links

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