Four Years After Final Four Player Profiles [Magazine Preview]
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Gabe Norwood, right, and former Final Four teammate Jai Lewis have joined forces again, playing for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the Phillipine Basketball Association. (Gabe Norwood)
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Get a sneak peek at two of the Final Four basketball team member profiles in the upcoming Mason Nation: Four Years After Final Four magazine.
Look for your copy of Mason Nation today at Mason Day- and be sure to enter to win a free t-shirt as well!
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Gabe Norwood, #5
Norwood currently plays for the Philipine Basketball Association. (Broadside Photo Archives)
Communication, 2007
Guard/Forward
2006 GoMason.com Statistics: 6’4” 185 lb.
Gabe Norwood currently plays for Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the Philippine Basketball Association where he is in his second year in the league. He has gained the nickname “The President,” a term coined by Filipino sports journalist Quinito Henson in reference to his resemblance to President Barack Obama.
“I’m loving it out here,” Norwood said.
“The country loves the game of basketball and treats its players with a lot of support and respect.”
Norwood in the Philippines was the first overall pick in the 2008 PBA draft, won the Slam Dunk Contest among locals during the 2009 PBA All-Star Week and was named 2008-09 PBA Rookie of the Year.
Norwood’s Final Four experience directly led to his continuing career.
“It just so happened that there were coaches from the Philippines in Indianapolis during the Final Four,” Norwood said. “I’m not sure how exactly they found out that I had Filipino blood (my mom is half Filipino), but I caught their eye there and they kept me on their radar and eventually got me over to play. Long story short, the Final Four run got me the opportunity to continue my career.”
One memory that stands out for Norwood is the constant media exposure he experienced during the Final Four run. “[We had] camera crews follow us around campus,” Norwood said. “I think that’s what got the country on our side. We were accessible.”
He also reminisced about the high level of attention the team got from the school.
“School spirit was at an all-time high,” Norwood said. “The sense of pride, not only at Mason but the whole area, was crazy. Pep rallies, send-off parties, banquets—you name it and we were there. I guess that run set the standard of how much respect the program got from everyone at the university. My senior year, expectations were high, and I’m pretty sure attendance almost doubled for the year.” --By Cody Norman and Rachael Dickson
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Folarin Campbell, #42
Folarin Campbell currently plays for the Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck, a team in Germany, as a guard/forward. (Broadside Photo Archives)
Communication, 2008
Guard/Forward
2006 GoMason.com Stats: 6’4” 200 lb.
His first name means “walk with glory” in Nigerian, and after the 2006 season, there was no question that Folarin Campbell has lived up to his name. He made the decisive shot that took down Connecticut and sent the Patriots to the Final Four.
“That’s probably the best shot I’ve shot,” Campbell said in a 2008 article by Washington Post sports columnist Mike Wise.
During his sophomore year, Campbell started in 34 of 35 regular season games and received playing time in all of them. He finished in the CAA’s top 12 in scoring with an average of 13 points per game.
During that season, when he scored in double figures, led the team in assists, made at least half of his shots, and had four or more rebounds, Mason maintained a winning record. According to his player profile on gomason.com, he “scored in double figures in all five of Mason’s NCAA Tournament contest.”
Campbell entered his junior year among the all-time top 30 at Mason in career assists and went on to be selected for the Third-Team and Second-Team All-CAA teams his junior and senior years, respectively. By the end of his senior year, he was fourth all-time in career assists and was the only player in school history to have scored 1,500 points.
After graduating from George Mason, Campbell was offered the opportunity to play for Solsonica Rieti, an Italian League team, now known as NSB Napoli due to sponsorship changes. He played for that team during the 2008-09 season and now plays for the Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck, a team in Germany, as guard/forward.
So far this season, he has scored 88 points out of a team total 892. He has made 80.6 percent of his free throws, swishing 25 out of 31 through the hoop. --By Hayley Roder
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