Mathew Campbell (born 20 June 1976) is an Australian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who played his entire career for the

Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL).

NBL career

Born in

Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban populat ...

, Campbell joined the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

in 1996, and remained with the club for 17 seasons. In his rookie season, he played in the NBL's Future Forces Game. In 1999, he finished third in voting for the

NBL Best Defensive Player Award The National Basketball League Best Defensive Player is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 1980 NBL season to the best defensive player of the regular season. At the season's end, each club nominates one player for ...

, and the following season, became the captain of the Hawks. He and long-time teammate

Glen Saville Glen Saville (born 17 January 1976) is an Australian former professional basketball player who played the majority of his career for the Wollongong Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL). NBL career Born in Bendigo, Victoria, Saville mo ...

helped the Hawks win their maiden NBL championship in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and finish runners-up in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. He scored a career-best 36 points against the

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...

in Townsville on 5 December 2005, including 9-of-14 from three-pointer range. Campbell led the "Save the Hawks" campaign in February 2009 to ensure Wollongong's further participation in the NBL. He helped the team raise significant funds as well as obtaining a $1 million guarantee from Gujarat NRE and gaining Australian Health Management as their naming rights sponsor. In 2009, Campbell had his iconic No. 32 singlet retired by the Hawks. He is one of only five Illawarra/Wollongong players to have had their jersey retired. On 15 March 2012, Campbell announced his retirement from professional basketball. He completed his 17-year NBL career as the Hawks' all-time games played leader with 524 (Glen Saville surpassed that record during the 2012–13 season), and the club's three-pointers made leader with 1,049. In 524 career games, he averaged 11.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. On 6 April 2018, the Illawarra Hawks announced Campbell as their new General Manager heading into the 18/19 season.

National team career

Campbell was a member of the Under 23 Australian squad in 1996, and played for the Australian team during their tours to China and Europe in 2002. Two years later, he trialled for the

Boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. The ...

to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, but was cut from the squad ahead of the games.

References

External links

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NBL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Mat 1976 births Living people Australian men's basketball players Illawarra Hawks players Sportspeople from Bendigo Shooting guards Small forwards Wollongong Hawks players