Mike Smith
Artesia Daily Press
msmith@currentargus.com

Artesia High School basketball player Charlie Campbell didn’t have much time to switch from football conditioning to basketball shape.

The 6-foot-2 junior guard went from playing in the 5A state football championship game Thanksgiving weekend to the start of the basketball season Dec. 5 at Artesia’s City of Champions Classic.

As the basketball season rolls into January, Campbell appears to have shaken off the aftermath of the football season and his roundball campaign is in high gear.

Campbell played safety in football and noted a key difference in the demands of the gridiron versus the hardwood.

“The only time I would get the ball was on an interception or something,” he said of his work keeping football opponents out of the end zone. “The (basketball) defense if we run the press or something and if I can just read the court and make plays off the ball then I can find some similarities.”

Campbell jokes he has played basketball since he could walk. On a serious note, the 16-year-old said he began playing organized basketball in fifth grade.

Campbell said the Bulldogs had difficulties during the initial stages of the basketball season.

“Right now, I think we are the best we have been so far, and I just hope we can keep growing as a team,” he said. “These guys (have) come a long way and I’m proud to see where they are going to go.”

As a sophomore last year, Campbell helped the Bulldogs compile an 18-9 record (6-0 in District 4-4A) and advance to the state playoffs where they were eliminated by Albuquerque Hope Christian. The Bulldogs have won six games and lost four this season.

Bulldogs head coach Michael Mondragon said Campbell has matured since last season and is now team captain.

“As a sophomore he started for us for quite a few games and was a role player. This year he has taken on that role as captain,” he said.

Mondragon said Campbell has met the challenge of being a team leader.

“He is a great two-way player for us,” the coach said. “When he gets going on defense, people don’t realize how good of a defender he is and how much he rebounds the basketball.”

On offense, Mondragon said, Campbell is a shooter and acts as floor general at the point guard spot.

“The guys that have been playing with him a long time are all juniors,” Mondragon said. “He has been a big piece of that glue that has kept them together and definitely gives them more confidence and more energy when he’s on the floor.”

Campbell wants to be a guiding force on the court this season, helping his teammates make better decisions and have a greater understanding of the game.

“I just want to make sure they are having fun out there,” he said. “I don’t want them to feel like basketball is a job. I want them to run the floor and get their points, and facilitate with them.”

Campbell isn’t just an athlete, of course. He’s hard at work in the classroom as well as on the basketball court and says his favorite subject is language arts. After high school, he would like to play college basketball and pursue a career in the medical field.

Campbell is a son of Charles Campbell III and Jeanette Palmer. Charlie (he’s Charles Campbell IV) has three brothers, CJ and TK Campbell and Cree Palmer.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-308-8734 and can be followed on X @MSmithartesianm.